Enter Fifteen
by Kora Bloom
Summary: Discovered by the Organization, a newly-born Nobody must learn how to be a part of the group. But, who are these green-eyed strangers and what are they planning? Pairings inside.
1. Prologue

**This story contains the following pairings: OCxCanon character and RoxasxXion. If you don't wish to read a story with those pairings, click the magical back button.**

**I do hope that this version is better than the original.**

**Please also note that this fic will ****_not_**** follow the KH plotline at all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. I only own Kora, Mark, Laurie, and the world of Forlit.**

**As always, characters' thoughts appear in **_"Italics with quotes around"._

* * *

The world of Forlit is known for its immense forests and lush greenery. People here have harnessed all forms of modern conveniences. Yet, while using these devices to make life easier, the residents take great precautions to preserve the world's natural beauty.

However, all is not well in Forlit as it once was. Dark creatures have been sighted attacking people. Some manage to get away, but others aren't so fortunate. No one knows what happens to these poor souls except that they are never seen again. Those left behind try to move on with their lives.

Many have lost family to them whether from attacks or their families decided to relocate to another country, hoping the creatures are not there as well. Those who relocate seldom return and their whereabouts are often unknown by even their kin. Many believe that these residents who flee are victims of the creatures as they are also never heard from again.

Kora Bloom is one of those left behind. She lived with her parents until they went shopping one night and never returned. She would've searched for them if she had any idea where to look and wasn't afraid of being attacked by the creatures. She hadn't heard from her brother since he moved out two years ago and had no idea where he was to tell him the news. She had no choice but to move on in her parents' old apartment which she was now paying the rent on.

She earns her living by working as a dishwasher in a local diner. She passes time mostly by watching TV and drawing pictures to amuse herself. She had shown some drawings to her coworker and friend, Mark, only to have him laugh at them. She just laughed along with him because she knew he wasn't trying to be mean. They both just realized that her drawings weren't very good.

Kora stays inside when she's not traveling to or from work because she doesn't want to be caught on her own by one of those dark creatures that roam around. When she travels, she tries to get home as fast as she can. She assumed she was taking all the necessary precautions until that day came when her whole world changed.

* * *

"Yo, you done with those yet," asked Mark. "It's almost that time of day again." Kora groaned.

"Wonderful, the lunch rush. It's times like this that I'm really glad I'm not a waitress." Mark chuckled.

"I hear ya. Don't envy them one bit. At least being the assistant chef means I don't have to run around like a rocket came out of my ass." Laurie entered, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"Funny, I thought the boss said we weren't supposed to swear." Mark looked around before turning back to her.

"I don't see him anywhere, do you? Besides, it's not like we're around any customers." Laurie sighed.

"Forget it. I'm not in the mood to argue. The first of the lunch customers just arrived and tables one, five, and eight _all_ want the special, so that's six shrimp platters that you have to make. I'll let you get to that while I go and serve them drinks." She headed to the back of the kitchen.

"Hey, Mark, I'm done now," said Kora.

"You won't be bored long," said Mark. "The dishes'll pile up in roughly another hour like they always do." Kora leaned against the counter.

"What really sucks is that I gotta go home and do _my_ dishes after my shift."

"Heh, sucks to be you," said Mark. "Well, I gotta get to cooking."

"I think I'll take my lunch now since I have nothing better to do," said Kora.

"Sure thing," said Mark.

* * *

_"I should probably find a better job so I can get a better place to stay," _Kora thought as she was on her way home._ "Oh, that's right, I still need to buy a new washer. Great, washer shopping. Well, either that, or I could just wear stinky clothes or buy new ones when the ones I have get dirty. I don't like either idea. Better get home so I can get to those dishes. Oh, and eat. I didn't really think that through. Makes more sense to eat first."_ She turned at the sound of rustling. "Hello? Mark, if that's you, this got old after the first time you did it." When she saw the black creature, she took off in the opposite direction and ran into something. Mark got up and dusted himself off.

"Man, Kora, where's the fire? You're white as a sheet." Kora got up immediately with a look of fear on her face.

"We have to run! I saw one of those black creatures and, usually, there's more than one!" Mark grabbed her shoulders.

"Whoa, calm down. Are you sure it wasn't just a trick of the light or something?" Kora forced him off.

"I'm not crazy! Look if you don't believe me!" Mark's eyes widened.

"Holy crap, there's a whole swarm now. C'mon, we have to get outta here!" Kora groaned.

"There's nowhere to go! We're surrounded now because we stopped too long!" Mark raised his fists.

"Well, even if this doesn't work, I'm going down fighting." Kora shrugged. "Couldn't hurt if we're gonna die anyway." The horde of creatures soon engulfed them and everything went black.

* * *

**I'm a nit-picky grammar and punctuation queen, so let me know if there are ****_any_**** punctuation or grammar errors throughout the story (excluding the characters' dialogue). If there's even a ****_quotation_**** where it shouldn't be, I want to know about it. **


	2. Ch1 Recruitment

**The Organization members finally make an appearance.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Kora, Mark, Laurie, and Forlit.**

* * *

"SON OF A BITCH!" Roxas woke up after hearing the yell and looked at the alarm clock. He sighed and turned it off.

"I better go see what Axel's problem is since I won't be able to get back to sleep. What could've happened to make him so mad at five in the morning anyway?" He portaled in front of Axel's door and knocked. "Axel, you okay in there?"

"Mostly. Demyx, if you want to help, get this water out of my room. I'd really appreciate it if I didn't fall and crash into things on my way to the bathroom."

"Sorry, I didn't realize how tired I was last night. You'd think I'd be more careful since this happened twice already." Roxas stood in the hallway.

"Uh, mind if I come in, or isn't it safe in there?"

"Uh, you better wait until I get all the water out the window, Roxas," said Demyx. "It really _is_ a mess in here. You open the door and even _more_ of the water will go into the hall. Not counting what's going under Axel's door." Splashing could be heard in the room.

"Man, I _hate_ being wet. I hope no one else woke up."

"What's the big deal? You all _know_ I'm not a morning person."

"Larxene, you're not an any-time-of-the day person," said Axel. Larxene scoffed.

"You _do_ realize that I can send lightning under the door, don't you? Besides, it'll be even worse for both of you since Demyx, idiot that he is, flooded that whole room and probably his own along with it." Axel finally opened the door to reveal his bedroom that still had some puddles in it which Demyx was willing out the window.

"Yeah? Try it now. Besides, I'm just saying something that's true. Things are setting you off all day." Larxene rolled her eyes.

"If _you_ were one of the few women here and were surrounded by a bunch of men with some of them acting stupid, _you'd_ get pretty irritated too."

"Oh, good, you dudes are already up," said Xigbar. Roxas flinched. "Easy, Kiddo."

"Don't call me that!" Roxas snapped. "What are you doing here, anyway, Xigbar and why'd you have to sneak up on me?"

"Superior called a meeting and I'm just a sneaky guy, so it's not _my_ fault you weren't paying much attention," said Xigbar. "Oh, you went and woke Larxene up? How come Marly isn't up?" Larxene shrugged.

"Sound sleeper? Maybe he just wasn't in the mood to chew anyone out this early. Doesn't matter. Point is, this idiot woke me up with his yelling!" Axel crossed his arms.

"And just what am I supposed to do when I get up to use the bathroom and fall on my face because there's water in the room? Am I _not_ supposed to care that I might've broken something? Or was that whole thing not supposed to hurt?" Xigbar shook his head.

"Hey, both of you, chill. We don't need any _more_ screaming this morning. I still have to round up the rest. Did Poppet come back yet?"

"She's not supposed to be back till this afternoon," said Axel. "As Number Two, I'm amazed you _don't_ know that."

"Whoa, dude, _Saix_ deals with the missions," said Xigbar. "Superior doesn't tell _me_ much of anything."

"Doesn't that make you jealous," asked Demyx.

"As if," said Xigbar. "Being the Superior's lapdog might have perks, but it would also mean that I wouldn't get to do my own things as much. Trust me, Saix is better for that job. You four get to the Round Room and I'll make sure Luxord and Marly follow." He walked down the hall. Demyx finally finished willing the water out the window.

"That'll do it."

"Let's get going, then," said Roxas.

"Sure," said Axel. They all portaled to their seats. "Any idea why Xigbar calls Xion 'Poppet'?"

"Probably the same reason he calls _me_ 'kiddo' or 'tiger'," said Roxas.

"Right, which would be what," asked Axel.

"Eight, the meeting is beginning, so keep your comments to yourself," said Xemnas.

"Sure thing, Superior," said Axel. Xemnas began what would likely be an hour-long drone about Kingdom Hearts before he would get to the point.

Songs he had listened to the day before were playing in Demyx's head. Roxas had found the zipper on his coat very fascinating and was playing with it until this behavior earned him a glare from the Luna Diviner. Axel was beyond bored and was seriously considering starting a fire just for some action, but he didn't want to risk getting whatever punishment Xemnas would decide to give him for not only interrupting a meeting, but also for using his powers when there is no need, and attempting to destroy the Round Room.

"As for the reason I called this meeting, a fifteenth stone has appeared in Proof of Existence," said Xemnas. "Seven has informed me that it is a female from a recently-discovered world by the name of Forlit. Eight, when Fourteen returns, you shall _both_ set out to find the new member. Fourteen will _hardly_ be worn out after a reconnaissance mission. Six will inform you when she returns. You are all dismissed."

* * *

"I think Xemnas likes picking on me," said Axel as he sat in his room with Demyx and Roxas.

"Hey, _you_ were the one still talking when he was ready to start," said Demyx.

"Axel, he's picking on Xion too," said Roxas. "Two missions in a row? It's not fair."

"Don't worry, Roxas, _I'll_ take care of your girlfriend," said Axel. Roxas blushed.

"She's _not_ my girlfriend! She's just a _friend_ who happens to be a _girl_." Demyx snickered.

"How come you're blushing, then?"

"Demyx, you _know_ how defensive he gets about that," said Axel.

"_You_ started it, Axel," said Demyx.

"Hey, if we can't _feel_, how can we have friends, crushes, or get embarrassed," asked Roxas.

"I never really agreed with the Superior's 'no emotions' theory," said Axel. _"I_ think we possess _shadows_ of what our hearts were. Well, unless we're Saix or Vexen."

"What about Marluxia and Larxene," asked Demyx.

"How _else_ would Larxene be so sadistic or Marluxia be as arrogant as the day is long," asked Axel. "Oh, hey, Zexy."

"Don't call me that," said Zexion. "I will accept 'Zexion' or 'Six'. As I am your superior, I expect you to at least _try_ to show respect, Axel, however foreign the concept is to you. Fourteen is waiting for you in the Grey Area." He then headed down the hall.

"Well, duty calls," Axel said as he portaled to the Grey Area. "Ready to go?"

"This sucks, I just got back," said Xion. "Doesn't the Superior think I need sleep?"

"Can't do anything about it, Xion," said Axel. He opened a portal. "C'mon, the sooner we get the new girl, the sooner you can sleep,"

"Well, let's go, then," said Xion. They stepped into the portal which Axel closed behind them.

* * *

Kora woke up and looked around. "Mark! Mark, where are you?_ Was that whole thing just a dream? It probably was. Yeah, maybe I've been working too much lately and I passed out on the way home. I hope that's true. If it's not, something bad happened to Mark. I have a bad feeling. I think I should go back to the diner and see if Mark left. Yeah, that's the only way I can be sure if what happened was a dream or not."_

* * *

Numbers Eight and Fourteen stepped out of a portal in the middle of a forest. With a wave of his arm, Axel closed the portal.

"Any idea on how we're supposed to find this girl? Saix didn't exactly draw us a map to her or anything." Xion shrugged.

"Walk around and ask?" Axel snorted.

"Yeah, I can see it now: 'Hey, have you had your heart stolen in the past couple hours?' Seriously, Xion, that would be drawing too much attention to ourselves."

"Well, you asked and I offered all I could think of," said Xion. Axel sighed.

"Forget it. We can do this. We just have to stop and think. Describing Heartless and asking if the person ran into them is _far_ from being a good idea. Xemnas's rule: Be as discrete as possible. Though he doesn't realize how much trickier that makes the job."

"Xemnas doesn't really do these kinds of missions anyway, so how would he know what we have to do for them," asked Xion. Axel's eyes lit up as if a light-bulb suddenly appeared above his head.

"I think I got it! What if we just say we're studying the creatures that have been showing up here to try and think of a way to get rid of them? That way, we can question people _and_ have a good reason for it." Xion thought.

"Hmm, I like it."

* * *

"Kora? I thought you left already," said Laurie.

"I did, but I have to figure something out," said Kora. "Did Mark leave yet?" Laurie gave her a blank stare.

"Yeah, he left right after you like he always does. Hey, are you okay? You just got pale all of a sudden." Kora shook her head and returned to reality.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just forget it. _She wouldn't believe me if I told her. I don't know exactly what happened to him. He might be dead or just missing. Or, he could be perfectly fine. I just can't be sure._" She raced back out the door.

"Okay, that was weird," said Laurie. "And why do I get the feeling she was hiding something?"

* * *

"Maybe we should split up. It could help us find her faster." Axel was about to voice his opinion on that when he saw someone up ahead.

"If talking to _her_ doesn't give us any leads, I'll go with that." He squinted and raised an eyebrow. "Is she…picking bark off of that tree?" Xion followed his gaze.

"That's what it looks like to me." Axel sighed.

"Well, come on. We have to question the crazies too."

"That wasn't very nice," said Xion. Axel turned.

"Like she can hear me from the whole way over there. Enough stalling. Let's just go talk to her and see if we get anywhere."

As they got to the tree, they heard the girl muttering, "I really should be trying to find him right now. But where do I even start looking? How do I know he's not sitting in his house unharmed? Wait, he probably would've tried waking me up." Axel just stared for a few minutes.

"_What is she talking about? She sounds like she's in a panic for some reason."_ He received a nudge from Xion and snapped out of his thoughts. "Uh, hey, is there a _reason_ you're picking bark off that tree?" The girl turned.

"Just trying to calm down. Can I help you?"

"We're looking for information about these black creatures that were seen around here," Axel explained. "We're trying to figure out a way to get rid of them." She sighed in relief.

"Finally. Listen, have you seen anyone else around here? Like a guy a little taller than me with brown hair?"

"Sorry, no," said Xion. "You're the first person we've seen in a while." The girl bowed her head.

"Those things might've killed him, then. I'm not sure. The whole thing's still pretty fuzzy." Axel's eyes lit up.

"Did you see him get attacked or something that makes you think that?" Her eyes widened.

"Just _see_ him get attacked? I was _there_! Those things had us surrounded."

"How did you get away, then," asked Xion. The girl shrugged.

"I didn't really. All I know is that, one minute, we're surrounded, and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was alone in the middle of the road. What happened in between blacking out and waking up, I have no idea."

Axel's eyes widened and he looked at Xion. He winked. After studying him for a few moments, she understood and winked back. The girl looked from one of them to the other.

"Right, if that's all you wanted, I better get going. I have to keep looking for him."

"Hold it," said Axel. "I didn't say we were done yet. Could you check your pulse?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?" Axel smirked.

"That's classified. It's part of our research." She shrugged.

"_I don't believe a word he said so far, but I might as well humor him and see where this goes." _She checked her wrist and her eyes widened. She then proceeded to check her chest and neck, thinking that she must be hallucinating. Xion looked at Axel, who seemed to be amused with the whole thing. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the girl.

"You can't find one, can you?" The girl lifted her head and stared.

"You expected this. But, how am I alive then? Or, is this a dream?"

"You're not even sleeping," Axel pointed out with a slight chuckle. "As for how you're alive, I know it doesn't make much sense. Hell, it doesn't make _any_ sense."

"Start making sense, would you," she said, glaring daggers at him.

"Can't make much more sense than I already did," Axel said, crossing his arms. "As you probably already guessed, none of us have hearts. We've just kind of been going with it because no one can really explain why we still exist."

There was a pause in which she appeared to be studying them with great intensity. Tiring of the silence, Axel opened his mouth to say something, but the girl beat him to it.

"Who exactly are you two? I can tell you're not from around here."

"I'm Xion," said Xion, forcing herself in front of Axel and smiling. Axel shoved her out of the way and glared at her for interrupting what he was just about to do himself.

"Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" The latter statement was accompanied by his customary tapping of his temple.

The girl raised an eyebrow and gave him a blank stare. She hadn't heard someone ever use those words in that order or even that context before. Xion sensed some confusion.

"That's his favorite phrase." Axel shook his head and stared at the girl as if he thought she should've known that was completely obvious. The girl ignored him implying that he thought she was an idiot and intended to prove him otherwise.

"I'm Kora Bloom."

"Well, the mission's done," said Axel. Kora raised an eyebrow.

"Mission?"

"Yeah," said Axel. "Our mission was to find a girl without a heart and you fit the description."

"So, you're here to take me to where you come from," said Kora.

"Well, unless you have something to hold you here," said Axel.

"I'd like to try looking for my friend," Kora replied. "Other than that, I don't really have a reason to stay here." Axel sighed.

"Fine, but we're not hanging out here all night, I hope you know."


	3. Ch2 Starter Training

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Laurie, and Mark. Koxra's name is pronounced 'Koshra'**

* * *

"Koxra, are you awake?" It took a few seconds for the girl to register her new name. She looked at the alarm clock in her room.

"It's only 4:00am! Why are you here anyway, Xion?"

"Xemnas appointed me your mentor and I figured that the sooner we figure out your powers, the better," Xion replied. Koxra groaned and sat up, brushing cerulean strands out of her face.

"What about the weapon I'm supposed to have?"

"According to the Proof, it's supposed to be some type of pen. I guess you should probably work on summoning it before we figure out your element." Koxra stood up and stretched.

"Couldn't you have at _least_ given me, oh, two more hours or something?" Xion sighed. "Hey, everyone else gets up at about that time so it would be smarter to get started before they wake up."

"Fine, I'm up already," said Koxra. "But, I think you guys are trying to exhaust me or something. Zexion took until about eleven to decide he explained the group and what's going on good enough."

"You have to admit that Zexion's explanations _are_ thorough," said Xion. "I'll just hang out here until you're ready since you don't really know your way around yet." Koxra yawned as she walked into the bathroom.

"Yeah, you do that. Don't know if you noticed yet, but I'm not really a morning person." Xion laughed.

"Saix is pretty bad in the morning. Well, it's different than you. _He_ stays like that all day." Koxra looked in the mirror at her cerulean eyes. They were slightly bloodshot and had bags under them.

"Gee, can't wait till I meet _him_. _Screw make-up. Even if I _did_ have any, I wouldn't use it. I guess splashing myself with water is the best I can do for this." _She turned the sink on.

"I'd recommend not getting on his bad side," said Xion. Koxra laughed.

"If he's in a bad mood a lot, I don't think that'll take much. Oh, I just thought of something. Would you mind taking me back to my homeworld for a little bit? Sure I won't be able to tell them everything, but I have to let them know that they'll need a replacement for me. Well, that and I couldn't find Mark. I have to at least report him missing. I'll feel better if I do. I owe it to him to do _this_ much. If he's still alive."

"Heartless don't technically kill people," said Xion. "Well, not normally, anyway. They steal the heart, but the empty shell left behind is a Nobody. They don't all keep their identities, but that doesn't mean they're not like us. They mainly turn into Dusks." Koxra grabbed a towel and started drying her face.

"Those white things that look like they have zippers for mouths, right?" Xion snorted.

"Never thought about the zipper part. I guess it _does_ look like that, though. You almost done?"

"I didn't put a coat on yet," said Koxra. "So, do you think it'll be okay to pop back to Forlit?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't," Xion replied. "I'll admit that you have a good reason for it. Also, Axel was getting a bit impatient yesterday so he was really in a hurry to get back. That didn't really give you much time to think since we dragged you through a portal so fast."

"It was amazing that he actually thought to let me grab some clothes and look for Mark as long as we did with how much he wanted to leave," said Koxra.

"He's not the most patient person I know," said Xion. "If it had been him on his own, he probably wouldn't have let you look longer than five minutes." Koxra dug a coat out of her closet and tried it on.

"Hey, Xion? It's about the coat."

"It's not the wrong size, is it," asked Xion. Koxra zippered it.

"No, but that's the thing. _Why_ is it the right size? You guys didn't even know the body type of who you were looking for." Xion laughed.

"Oh, _that_. Turns out the higher-ups have one made in pretty much _every_ size. It's so new members at least have one coat to wear until they can get more made."

"Uh-_huh_," said Koxra. "And how long exactly does it take for them to make more in the same size?" Xion thought.

"Hmm, a day or two. You don't mind not having something clean every day, are you?" Koxra sighed.

"I don't _like_ to wear the same clothes for more than one day, but I can _deal_ with it."

"What about pajamas," asked Xion.

"Well, that's an exception," said Koxra. She opened the door. "Okay. I'm all set." Xion opened a portal.

"Let's hurry up before someone notices, then."

* * *

"Four-thirty," Axel muttered, staring at his alarm clock after a crack of thunder woke him. "Damn storm couldn't wait another hour and a half." He was about to roll over and go back to sleep when he heard what sounded like sitar music. He groaned. "Ugh, Demyx, don't you sleep?" The music stopped.

"_Everyone_ sleeps. Just because I'm not sleeping now doesn't mean I _never_ sleep. I got up to use the bathroom about five minutes ago and heard it raining. Naturally, inspiration struck." Axel put the pillow over his head.

"Well, can't you turn it off until 6:00?" It was plain after he said it that Demyx wouldn't like it.

"Inspiration doesn't have an off switch! If I _could_ turn it off, I'd be sleeping right now." Axel groaned.

"Too bad it's not like a video game. You could save it and come back to it later. Can you at least oh, I don't know, go elsewhere?" Demyx sighed.

"Alright, you big grouch. I'll be in the Hall of Empty Melodies if you feel like finding me when you're done taking your lack of sleep out on me."

* * *

"So, should I tell them about my name change," asked Koxra. Xion thought for a minute.

"I wouldn't if I were you. You'll be confusing them enough as it is and we can't afford to stay here too long. Hold on, are you even sure this Laurie girl is here?"

"Sure I'm sure," Koxra replied. "It's at least 8:00 here right now. I guess it's a little ahead of The World That Never Was. It's not like it's the same time in every world."

"Hmm, I didn't know Forlit time was a couple hours ahead," said Xion. Koxra chuckled.

"Neither did I until I saw the clock tower over there. Do you have to come in with me? It's not like I need a babysitter. I'm nineteen, not two."

"Well, we don't know much about you yet, so we can't say what you'll do if you're left on your own," said Xion. "No offense. This is just standard procedure with a new member until Xemnas is sure they don't need watching."

"Guess I can understand that," said Koxra. "Alright, let's go in, then."

* * *

"Good morning and welcome to—" Laurie's eyes widened. "Kora, you're late. I didn't think you were coming in at all."

"I know," said Koxra. "Sorry it's late notice, but I won't be working here anymore." Laurie blinked.

"Can I get a reason?"

"Because I'm moving," Koxra replied. "It was kind of sudden, but I have to move. I can't tell you why." Laurie sighed.

"Alright, I won't press it. By the way, have you seen Mark anywhere?" Koxra bowed her head.

"The truth is: I don't really know where he is. We got attacked by those creatures last night and I blacked out. I woke up later, but Mark was gone. I don't know if he got away or if he vanished like the others. All I can tell you is to treat him as a missing person." Laurie gasped.

"Oh my God! And you haven't seen him anywhere since then?" Koxra lifted her head.

"No, I haven't, but I knew I couldn't leave without telling someone what I knew. Just do me a favor: when you tell the police, leave me out of it. I'd rather not talk to them. Plus, I don't know if I'll be back here again."

"Alright, that should be no problem," said Laurie. "Who's this?" Koxra turned.

"Oh, this is Xion. Xion, this is Laurie."

"Hi," said Xion.

"Nice to meet you, Xion," said Laurie.

* * *

Demyx felt a poke. "Come on. I thought you said inspiration struck and now I find you sleeping up here?" Demyx yawned.

"Go away, Axel." He felt another poke.

"It's six, so if you don't get up right now, the next one will be a kick." Demyx groaned.

"Fine. Where's everyone else?"

"Already at breakfast," said Axel. "Well, except for Xion and the new girl. I don't know where they went, but I'm not about to get Xion in trouble." Demyx thought.

"What's her name again? It began with a 'k', didn't it?" Axel smirked.

"You mean you don't have it memorized yet? When we get a new member, the least you should do is learn their name."

"Yeah, I get it," said Demyx. "So, what is it?"

"Her name's Koxra," said Axel.

* * *

"So, step one: summoning your weapon," said Xion. Koxra crossed her arms.

"Right, and how do I do that?"

"Well, let's start with a demonstration," said Xion. She summoned her Keyblade. Koxra's eyes widened.

"Where'd that come from?"

"We don't walk around with our weapons on our person," Xion explained. "They're summoned and dismissed at will. This is my weapon, a Keyblade. With the exception of this weapon, everyone has their own unique weapons. There are two of us who wield a Keyblade." She banished the Keyblade. Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"So, how'd you do that?" Xion thought.

"The easiest way I can think of is to visualize it. Imagine that you're being attacked and you need something to defend yourself. Then, picture the weapon appearing in your hand. In this case, just picture a pen." Koxra focused. There was a flash of light in her hand, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Xion stared.

"I didn't expect you to be able to do it the first time, you know. Just keep trying it." Koxra continued trying and a whole hour seemed to have passed with no other progress other than the light lingering longer in her hand. She fell to her knees, panting. Xion looked down at her.

"Look, maybe you should take a break. You look exhausted."

"No," said Koxra. "I almost had it that time!" She tried again and something silver that was roughly a foot long appeared. It lingered briefly and then vanished. "See? That time I was even closer." Xion thought.

"It seems like your weapon is starting to appear. Maybe I was trying to stop you too soon. Okay, keep going." Koxra nodded and tried again. This time, a four foot long silver pen appeared in her hand. She wiped her forehead.

"Finally. Hey, it's staying this time! Still, why is it a pen?" Xion shrugged.

"No one really knows much about why we get the weapons we do. So, now that you summoned it once, it should be easier the next time. Dismissing it is easier too. Just picture it vanishing." Koxra did so and the pen vanished. Then, it reappeared.

"Sorry, just wanted to make sure it would still work. You're right. It _is_ easier to summon the second time." She banished it again.

"Alright, what do you say we take a break and get something to eat," said Xion.

"Sure," said Koxra.

* * *

"Aww, man," Demyx whined. "How can we be out of fruit punch?"

"Uh, Demyx, the grocery list is right over there." Demyx sighed.

"That doesn't solve my problem right now, Xion." Xion shrugged.

"Well, what can you do?" Demyx looked up.

"Oh, you're Koxra, right? I'm Demyx."

"Oh, hi," said Koxra.

"Why do you look tired already," asked Demyx. Koxra sat down.

"I spent a whole hour just figuring out how to summon my weapon. I guess doing that consistently for a whole hour drained my energy a little."

"Oh, yeah, the first time's always the hardest," said Demyx. "It took Xion longer than the rest of us because she lost her memories. She didn't say much of anything at first. Neither did Roxas, but he didn't have much trouble with his weapon."

"That must've made them hard to talk to," said Koxra. "So, who's Roxas?"

"Number XIII," said Demyx. "He's the only other member with a Keyblade. He has spiky, blond hair and he's a little taller than Xion. Not by much, but it's still enough to count." Xion looked in the refrigerator.

"How do you feel about salami, Koxra?"

"Hate it," said Koxra.

"Broccoli?"

"Gross."

"Meatloaf?"

"Ugh." Demyx laughed.

"Xion, why don't you just let _her_ go look?"

"Yeah," said Koxra. "I'm a picky eater in case you didn't already figure that out." She walked over to the refrigerator. "Okay. Is this bologna?" Xion looked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Alright, I'll have that, then," said Koxra. "Where's the bread?"

"Top cupboard there," said Demyx. Koxra made a sandwich and sat down. "So, do you like it here so far?" Koxra shrugged.

"Eh, it's okay, I guess. One day isn't really long enough for me to form an accurate opinion. How come you're here? I thought everyone else went on missions, or do you have the day off?"

"Yeah, lucky me," Demyx said. "That means I can do what I want all day without having to worry about Saix hunting me down. Come to think of it, Axel could've let me sleep in the Hall. He didn't really have to wake me up. Besides, I'm pretty much the only one who visits there on an almost-daily basis." Koxra bit into her sandwich.

"And where is this place you're talking about?"

"The Hall of Empty Melodies," Demyx replied. "It's empty most of the time, so I go there and play my sitar when Axel yells at me for not letting him sleep." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"Sitar?" Demyx summoned his sitar.

"This." Koxra looked.

"Oh, I don't think I've seen or heard of one of them before." Demyx chuckled.

"Not many people have. Well, no one here knew what it was. I knew what it was, but that was because I've been playing one for years. Zexion was the only one here who knew what it was." Koxra finished her sandwich.

"There probably isn't much he _doesn't_ know. He was explaining things to me last night and it took about three hours."

"That's because he doesn't exclude things," said Demyx. "That and I think he really likes it when he can show someone he's smarter than they are." Roxas stumbled into the kitchen and fell into a chair.

"Whew, finally gave my report. It's probably a good thing that I got done early, so now I have some free time and the Superior liked the fact that I finished early. He gave me all day and I finished in about three hours." Demyx banished his sitar.

"Maybe Xemnas overestimated the time it would take or underestimated you."

"Who can say which it is," asked Xion. "No one knows what's going on in Xemnas's head except Xemnas." Roxas leaned back.

"Yeah." He turned to Koxra. "Are you the new member?"

"Yeah, I'm Koxra," said Koxra.

"Roxas," Roxas replied. "First day and you're already tired?" Koxra stared.

"Hey, it's not like I ever had to summon a weapon out of thin air before!" Roxas laughed.

"Right, forgot about that little thing. Mine somehow came right away. Almost like it was second nature."

"Lucky you," said Koxra.

"We should get back to your training now," said Xion. Koxra summoned her pen.

"And I'm supposed to fight with this thing _how_?" Xion giggled.

"Good question. Maybe we can check the library for sword-fighting techniques and try some of those."

"Right, have fun, guys," said Demyx.


	4. Ch3 Element Thinking

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

"You're supposed to parry me when I strike. That's the whole purpose of doing this." Koxra panted.

"We've been working on this for a _week_ now. Can't we move on?" Xion blinked.

"I told you that we'll move on after you get it."

"What about my element," asked Koxra. "_That_ hasn't made an appearance at all."

"I'm sure it will soon," said Xion. "Just be patient." Koxra was literally fuming now.

"I just can't help it! I'm getting aggravated at all the constant repetition." She threw her pen in a fit of rage and it got stuck in the wall of the training room. She put her hands over her mouth. "Oh, no. I'm gonna be in _so_ much trouble. Xemnas is gonna flip when he sees this. I just _know _it left a hole." Xion looked at the pen.

"It all depends on what mood you catch him in really. Just try to calmly explain it." Koxra blinked.

"But, can't I just go fix it myself without him knowing?" Xion stared.

"Oh, he'd know. This is The World That Never Was, so what do you think it's made out of?" Koxra briefly looked up.

"Uh, got me. I don't really know much about construction." Xion shook her head in disbelief.

"It's not really made out of _anything_ and _what_ is Xemnas's element?" Koxra bowed her head as she realized what Xion was trying to say.

"Nothingness." Her eyes widened. "So, wait, _Xemnas_ used his element to make this place?"

"Exactly," said Xion. "So, if you tried to fix it in a different way, he'd notice." Koxra sighed.

"Guess I have no choice but to tell him, then. He's not gonna kill me or anything, is he?" Xion raised an eyebrow.

"For one little hole? No. I don't think it'll be anything _too_ bad. He'll probably just make you clean something." Koxra wiped her forehead.

"Should I tell him now?" Xion waved her off.

"Just wait until we're done. And how about you _calm down_?" Koxra scratched her head.

"Heh, I think I'm good now."

* * *

"Come in," Xemnas said in response to the knock. The door opened. "Fifteen, this better be important." Koxra shut the door behind her.

"Well, Superior, I just thought you should know that I threw my pen in the wall of the training room and it, well, it made a hole." Xemnas stared.

"I should've expected this. It seems that _everyone_ destroys something within a week of joining. Since I find this happening quite frequently, I even have a punishment reserved for it. You are to wash the dishes for the next week. Now, I suggest you vacate my office."

"Yes, sir," said Koxra. She walked out the door, turned a corner, and let out the breath she had been holding in. She then slid down the wall and sat on the floor. "That was a close one. I'll have to try not to get mad enough to break something again. I _doubt_ he'll be as lenient a second time."

"Hmm, problems, Princess?" Koxra looked up.

"That's not my name, Xigbar." The Freeshooter jumped down to the floor.

"Doesn't matter to me." Koxra sighed.

"Well, I guess I just have to get used to it. Anyway, did you want something?" Xigbar leaned against the wall.

"Couldn't help but notice that you couldn't wait to get away from Xemnas's office. That means you did something you shouldn't have."

"Well, you'll probably find out sooner or later anyway," said Koxra. "I threw my pen in the wall in the training room and created a hole."

"Let me guess: a week of dish duty," said Xigbar.

"Well, yeah," said Koxra. "Is that usually what happens when someone wrecks something?" Xigbar crossed his arms.

"Yeah. Technically it depends on the amount of damage. Since _you_ only created a hole the size of your weapon, you only get a week. Flamesilocks got a month when he torched a sofa." Koxra blinked.

"'Flamesilocks'?" Xigbar smirked.

"I thought that one would be obvious." Koxra thought for a minute.

"Oh, you mean Axel."

"Yeah," said Xigbar.

"Where the hell did 'Flamesilocks' come from," asked Koxra. Xigbar shrugged.

"Don't know, but I liked the sound of it. Anyway, you've been practicing with your weapon for a week now. Did you name it yet?" Koxra gave him a blank stare.

"Name it? That's allowed?" Xigbar laughed.

"Why wouldn't it be? Everyone else did. My guns are named Sharpshooter."

"Hmm, well, it gives me something to think about," said Koxra.

* * *

"Ugh, Xaldin, did you _have _to make these," asked Koxra as she stared at the green beans on the table like someone would stare at dog waste on the bottom of their shoe. Xaldin sat the last platter down on the table.

"I don't recall forcing you to eat them, Fifteen. If the daily menu is unappealing to you, perhaps you should make your own food. Otherwise, I suggest you just avoid what you find disgusting." Koxra crossed her arms and grumbled to herself. Xigbar shook his head.

"Like he said: no one's _making_ you eat it." Larxene bit into her chicken like a wild animal that hadn't had food in a week.

"Enough with the pointless talking about what tastes good and what doesn't. I'm trying to eat."

"Larxene, would you mind eating like a normal person so we don't all get freaked out watching you," said Axel. Larxene glared.

"Why are you paying attention in the first place? It's not like there's a code of etiquette that we follow when we eat." Axel shook his head. Luxord gave him a blank stare.

"You should know by now not to lecture her about proper table manners. Since when does she believe in common courtesy?" Axel sighed.

"Yeah, you got a point there." Koxra began eating.

"As for me, I'm just gonna pretend she's _not_ ripping apart the meat like a ferocious animal." Axel laughed.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"Would it be possible to change the topic to something _other than_ Larxene's eating habits," asked Vexen.

"Kingdom Hearts is roughly half-complete now," said Xemnas. "I expect the effort to continue." Koxra looked down and rolled her eyes.

"_Man, that guy has a one-track mind. I wonder if he ever tried having a little fun once in a while." _

_"Of course the Superior would bring _that_ up," _thought Vexen. _"_I_ wanted to talk about my experiments. Must I always play second-fiddle when he wants to discuss Kingdom Hearts?"_ Axel sighed.

"_Ugh, stupid thing to change the topic to. Oh well, it's not a meeting, so I don't really have to pay much attention. Wait, I don't really pay attention when he won't shut up about Kingdom Hearts anyway. Yeah, Xemnas, we get it, but you make it seem like you're in love with the thing or something."_ Demyx was staring at the wall with a glazed-over look in his eyes.

"_No, that won't work in that measure. Wait, did I put a flat in there somewhere?"_

"Can I be excused," asked Xion. Xemnas stared.

"And, why would you need to be excused, Number Fourteen?"

"Well, I thought, since I'm finished…," and she trailed off.

"I suppose," said Xemnas. "As for the rest of you, just leave when you finish. However, I don't want to see _you_ trying to sneak off, Fifteen."

"I wasn't planning on it," said Koxra.

* * *

Koxra sat at the top of one of the towers of the Castle. She summoned her pen and examined it. "Ugh, I have no _idea_ what to call this thing." She banished it and gazed at Kingdom Hearts. "How can something so beautiful make me feel empty when I look at it?" The sound of chuckling was below her.

"_Feel_? Should've guessed you'd end up being one of the ones who believed that." Koxra looked down.

"Axel, what're you doing here? Are you spying on me?" Axel leaned against the tower.

"Nope. Xion was looking for you. She wants to try and figure out your element." Koxra sighed, slid down the side of the tower, and fell over.

"Ouch. Okay, I don't think I'll be doing that again." Axel laughed.

"What made you think that would be a good idea anyway?" Koxra got up and dusted herself off.

"It's only like five feet above this platform, so I didn't think I'd fall. When do I get to learn that portal-thing?"

"Whenever Xemnas gives Xion the okay," said Axel. "Was there a _reason_ you were up here?" Koxra shrugged.

"Got bored. Thought I'd get a good look at what Xemnas is always raving about. Where _is_ Xion anyway?"

"Looking inside the Castle," Axel replied. "And, since I have nothing better to do today, I offered to look outside. You didn't sleep up here, did you?" Koxra honestly couldn't recall sleeping one wink but decided not to tell him that.

"No. Why would I sleep up here? If I _had_ fallen asleep, I would've fell off the tower and that probably would've hurt more than sliding down it. Well, I better get to Xion. Did she say I should meet her anywhere?"

"Training room," said Axel. "Think you can find your way from here?" Koxra rolled her eyes.

"I've been here for slightly over a week. I should be fine. Besides, I'm a big girl. I don't really need an escort."

"Heh, funny," said Axel. "Alright, have fun, then."

* * *

"Hey, Xion," Koxra said, entering the training room.

"Where _were_ you?"

"I was just sitting on one of the towers." Koxra summoned her pen. "Well, are we gonna get started or what?"

"I'm not sure if you'll really need your weapon for this." Xion started thinking. "Hmm, how are we supposed to do this anyhow?" Koxra banished her pen.

"You haven't thought about it until now?" Xion shook her head. "Well, elements don't repeat except for you and Roxas, right?"

"Oh, so we can eliminate all the other members' elements." Xion tapped a finger on her head. "But, the question is: How exactly do we go about this? We know that you won't be copying anyone's element, but that doesn't bring us any closer to finding out what it would be. If only there was a test for this or something. That would make things so much easier."

"What should we do in the meantime, though?" Koxra hoped one of them would get an idea soon.

"I have no clue," said Xion. "Just try activating random things? That's all I can think of."

"Yeah, maybe if I focus, you'll turn into a hacksaw or possibly a mouse. I don't know." Koxra started laughing at her own statement.

"I seriously _hope_ that doesn't happen," said Xion, getting terrified at the very _thought_ of becoming whatever the newest neophyte could dig out from the depths of her imagination.

"Alright, random attempts at transforming things are a go," Koxra exclaimed with a laugh.

"Don't use _me_ for a practice dummy, please," said Xion.

* * *

"Axel, how come you're just laying here instead of taking a nap in your room like you usually do on your days off," asked Roxas upon finding his friend on a couch in the Grey Area.

"Oh, Xion kind of had some problems finding Koxra earlier, so I offered to help," Axel replied, stretching. "After I found her, I just didn't feel like going to my room, so I crashed here." Roxas shook his head.

"You're strange."

"You're just _now_ noticing? Actually, maybe some of Demyx's laziness rubbed off on me." He chuckled. "Don't really care. Koxra wasn't really being all that smart. I found her on top of a tower outside and she just slid down to reach the ledge."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty dumb," said Roxas. "Did she hurt herself?"

"Not really," Axel said. "Might've got some bruises or maybe something that hurt but didn't really leave a mark. She looked fine to me. She didn't really slide down that much. The tower was only about five feet up from the ledge."

"Oh, I think I know the one you're talking about," said Roxas. "What did Xion want her for anyway?"

"Trying to figure out what her element is. Don't know how they're planning on doing that. It would be nice if we had a way of figuring it out right away. The whole Organization would have an easier time with training new members to use their elements if we could find out about them sooner." Axel sighed. "The _higher-ups_ would even be open for something that helped with that."

"Yeah," said Roxas. "Too bad we _don't_ know of anything that would do that sort of thing. Well, see you later. I have to go see Xemnas."

* * *

"Well, that didn't work either." Koxra dropped to her knees.

"What were you trying to do _that_ time," Xion asked. _"Is it even possible to figure out her element this way? She's been trying different things for hours and that training dummy hasn't turned into anything or even _moved_ in the slightest."_

"Hmm," Koxra said, squeezing her forehead. "I think I was trying to turn it into a CD player. I don't know how that would be useful, but I'm honestly out of ideas." Xion leaned against the wall.

"There has to be _something_ we haven't tried yet. I can't remember how long it took the rest of us to figure out our elements." Xion spent a couple minutes in deep thought before Koxra decided to speak up.

"It would be nice if you would tell me what's going through your head. Then I wouldn't have to guess." Xion's eyes lit up.

"What if you _didn't_ have to guess?" Koxra gave her a blank stare.

"What do you think I am, a mind reader?"

"But that's just it," Xion exclaimed. "What if that's _exactly_ what you are?" Koxra thought for a minute.

"Well, if could be possible. Not to mention that it's something I haven't tried yet. Will you be my guinea pig? I kind of need a subject with a mind to try this."

"What if I'm wrong though and my brain ends up turning into mush," asked Xion. Koxra crossed her arms.

"Now you're doubting your idea? Honestly, how could mind-reading mess up someone's brain? Maybe my brain'll explode trying it. Maybe yours will. I'll never know unless I give it a shot." Xion gulped.

_"Shockingly enough, that does nothing to make me feel less scared, but she _does_ need to practice on someone with a mind._ Okay, try it."

**If anyone read the original version, Koxra's element was memory. I decided to change it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was similar to Namine's. I just kind of got bored with it after a while. So, her new element is mind-reading.**


	5. Ch4 Element Unveiled

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

_"Did she start yet,"_ Xion thought.

_"I hope this doesn't hurt her or anything,"_ Koxra thought. _"No, it has to work and if this is my element and I start having doubts about whether or not it works, that could cause Xion problems." _She focused on Xion's mind.

"_Is she even trying anything yet? Or won't I feel it if she does?"_ Xion thought. Koxra fell to her knees and panted. Xion shook her head to snap out of a trance she hadn't realized she was in.

"Are you okay? Hold on, did you just try it?" Koxra took some deep breaths.

"Yeah. It worked. Guess we found my element. The question is: will it drain me this much every time I try it?" Xion shrugged.

"It'll probably get easier if you practice." Koxra slowly got to her feet.

"I hope I didn't scare you out of helping."

"If you keep that amount of focus, I think it'll be fine," Xion replied.

* * *

"Hey, Axel, did you hear," Demyx asked, bounding into the room. Axel sat up on his bed where he had been lying down, staring at the ceiling.

"What do you want, mullet-boy? I'm a little busy here."

"You don't _look_ busy," said Demyx. Axel sighed.

"What is it?"

"Koxra finally figured out what her element is," said Demyx. Axel chuckled.

"Sure took long enough. What is it, something I won't like? Does she have the power to annoy people or something else unpleasant? How'd you find out anyway?"

"She can read minds. Xiggy was spying in the training room and he told me," Demyx replied. Axel's eyes widened.

"Wait, _who_ has she been testing it on?"

"Xion, but she's fine with it," said Demyx.

"Okay, _both_ of them are being incredibly stupid." Axel got up and opened a portal. Demyx's eyes widened.

"Uh, you're not planning on doing anything rash, are you?" Axel glared.

"What do you _think_? Those two _obviously_ need a good lecture at the very _least_." He disappeared into the portal.

"I hope I didn't cause trouble for them. I have a feeling he's _beyond_ angry," said Demyx.

* * *

"Uh, Koxra, you've already done this ten times and you look exhausted," said Xion. Koxra was struggling to get up.

"Just one more time. I think It's starting to take a little less energy." Xion sighed.

"No, that's enough for today. Look at you. You can barely get up." Koxra groaned.

"Fine, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

"Have both of you lost all sense of reason? Assuming you had any _before_ deciding to do this, that is." Xion flinched.

"Uh, h-hi, Axel. What are you so mad about?" Axel glared.

"Oh, just a little something I heard from Demyx who heard it from Xigbar. Apparently _you_ have mind-reading for an element." He pointed at Koxra. "And _you_," he glared in Xion's direction, "decided it would be perfectly safe to play her guinea pig!"

"But, it's not like I thought it would be safe," Xion protested.

"Of course," said Axel. "You know all the dangers, but that doesn't change the fact that you agreed to it anyway!" Koxra stood up.

"Hey, isn't that a little harsh? It's not like she begged me to do it or anything. You're making it sound like she just said, 'Here, Koxra, go ahead and use me to practice on', but she didn't."

"And _that_ makes it better," said Axel, the vein in his forehead starting to pulse. "It doesn't change the fact that it happened and you both have lost half your marbles at the very least! You were taking a huge gamble by testing out something out on Xion that you weren't even sure would work." Koxra glared.

"Don't you think I _thought_ of that? That's why I waited until I was completely focused to even _attempt_ it. I didn't want to hurt her or anything! Look, I know it wasn't the smartest thing either of us could've done, but if you have an alternative way to help with my powers, Axel, then I'd _love_ to hear it!" Xion looked from Koxra to Axel and back. She decided she should attempt to break the tension.

"Guys, can you just drop it, please? It already happened, so we can't really do anything about it. Can both of you just calm down?" Koxra was stumbling to the door.

"Yeah, whatever." She left the room.

"That was _really nice_, Axel," said Xion. "You need to keep your temper in check." Axel blinked.

"_Me_? But she was—"

"I should've worded that better," said Xion. "It didn't help that you came in here in your 'angry-lecture' mode. The fact is, you getting mad and yelling at us only made _her_ mad and caused her to start yelling back at you. I'm not saying what she did was good, but you didn't have to yell when you came in. In any case, I think you two should make up."

"I was worried something she did could've messed you up," Axel protested. "She _did_ just discover her element, so she can't be very good at it yet." Xion shrugged.

"True, but she _did_ read my mind ten times with no mess-ups. Besides, what alternative was there?"

Axel thought for a long minute. As much as it angered him, he couldn't think of an alternative and realized he could perhaps have voiced his opinion without yelling at either of them.

"I guess I could've handled that better. I should probably go talk to her."

Xion stared at him. She was about to congratulate him for stating the obvious, but decided against it. After all, she didn't want his temper to skyrocket again.

"Be careful and try not to get her even more mad. That won't accomplish anything." Axel opened a portal.

"I'll keep that in mind." He disappeared into the portal.

* * *

"_Honestly, what's his problem,"_ Koxra thought. _"It's not like I was trying to hurt Xion or anything. Sure that was reckless, but I didn't really see any other options. _Anyone_ I used that on would be at risk. Out of everything I possibly could've got as a power, I had to get _this_. It's an invasion of people's privacy." _She sighed_. "As much as I hate to admit it, Axel had a point. I didn't know if it would work, so what if I had ended up blowing her head up or something? I shouldn't have talked Xion into it. Man, I need something to eat and then I think I'll lay down. I might take a nap. I should go apologize to Axel before sleeping. It wasn't right to yell at him like that."_ She went to the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator.

"Here I thought the kitchen would be empty at this time of day. What are _you_ doing here?" Koxra shrugged.

"It's a free kitchen, isn't it, Marluxia? It's not like I'm going out of my way to provoke you or anything. Or did you have something to do in here that you don't want anyone to know about?" Marluxia scoffed.

"I was just hoping for some peace and quiet in the kitchen while I put together a sandwich."

"Hey, I'm not intentionally noisy," said Koxra. "I'll leave when I'm done getting food if you're gonna have a fit."

"Actually, that would be a favorable outcome," said Marluxia.

"Finally found you. Alright, out Petals."

"You're not in charge of who is or who isn't allowed in the kitchen, Firecracker," Marluxia snapped. Axel smirked.

"As fun as it would be to catch one of your belongings on fire for that wise-crack, now isn't the time. I just need a little privacy with her." Koxra dug a piece of pizza out of the refrigerator.

"That's not necessary. I'm leaving. There's no reason to get mad and try forcing him out."

"Fine," said Axel. "In the hallway." Koxra held out the pizza.

"Do you mind if I eat this first?"

"Just bring it along," Axel suggested.

* * *

"Before you say anything, I'm sorry," said Koxra. "I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. Just don't take it out on Xion. I talked her into it without even taking much time to think first."

"Now that I calmed down, I realized that I can't do anything about something that already happened," said Axel. "Well, I could if I convinced Luxord to rewind time for me, but there's no point since everything worked out. Sorry. I guess neither one of us were thinking clearly." Koxra stared.

"Xion talked you into this, didn't she?" Axel waved his hands.

"Hey, I'm not just doing this because she told me I should. I'm doing it because I realized that I exploded. I should've calmed down before barging in." Koxra took a bite of the pizza as she processed what he had just said. She decided it would be best to steer the conversation away from Axel's behavior.

"I kinda wish I didn't have to have a guinea pig with a mind to practice on. If I could practice on myself, I would, but _everyone_ can read their _own_ mind." Axel leaned against the wall.

"Xion said you did that ten times already. Looking at you, I believe it. You look like you went a couple rounds with Saix." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ crazy. I'd have to have a death wish to want to fight _him_."

"True," said Axel. "The guy beat _me_ quite a few times."

"That makes me wanna fight him even _less_," said Koxra.

"I'll give you credit for one thing," said Axel. "You sure aren't stupid."

* * *

"Hey, Xion, I'm back," said Koxra, entering the training room. "I didn't know if you wanted to work on anything else today."

"Oh, I think we're good on everything today," Xion replied. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good, actually," said Koxra. "I think he was pretty much calmed down before he found me."

"Yeah, he was," said Xion. "Well, calming him down counted for something."

* * *

"Well, Koxra, you're with me today," said Roxas. Koxra blinked in confusion.

"What? I thought Xion was supposed to be showing me the ropes." Roxas laughed.

"Your mentor's not the only one who helps with that. Other members take you out on training missions. Well, that and Xemnas thinks you're trained good enough to start doing missions."

"I won't have to worry about this when I learn how to portal, will I," asked Koxra.

"Yeah, as soon as you learn to portal, you won't be doing easy training missions anymore," Roxas replied. He opened a portal. "Well, let's get going."

* * *

Demyx watched as Roxas and Koxra disappeared into the portal. He sat down and began tuning his sitar.

"Number Nine, would you explain why you're wasting time in the Grey Area when you're supposed to be doing reconnaissance in the Olympus Coliseum?" Demyx jumped and turned his head.

"Whoa, jeez, hasn't anyone ever told you it's not a good idea to sneak up on a musician when he's in the zone?" Saix rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You serve the Organization better by going on missions, so I suggest you get moving and stop wasting time."

"Oh, man," said Demyx. "Come on, Saix, can't you let me off the hook this once?" Saix crossed his arms.

"What is the answer to that question every time you ask it?" Demyx sighed and bowed his head.

"'Nine, your job is to do what the Superior asks of you and I don't want to see you lounging about around here when there's work to be done'."

"Precisely," said Saix. "If you can memorize it, I suggest you act on it." Demyx groaned and opened a portal.

"Alright, I'm going."

* * *

"Where are we exactly," asked Koxra, stepping out of the portal and watching Roxas close it.

"Twilight Town," Roxas replied. "We're just supposed to find out roughly how many Heartless are here." Koxra blinked.

"That's all?" Roxas shrugged.

"Well, we could get some fighting practice in while we're at it. It's about time you got experience with fighting Heartless. Oh, almost forgot, we're supposed to see if there's a boss somewhere around here." Koxra stared.

"We're not supposed to fight it, are we?"

"Not unless we can't get away from it," Roxas replied. "Let's get going."

A half hour had passed and Koxra and Roxas had killed thirty Heartless each. Koxra was bent over and panting while Roxas didn't look like he even worked up a sweat.

"How are you not tired?"

"I _have_ been doing this longer," Roxas replied. "We can take a break if you want." Koxra sat on the curb.

"Yeah, I think I need it. I'll get used to this the more I do it, won't I? Don't we have to fight a boss or something?"

"Saix said we were supposed to see if we can find one, and that translates into: 'You may or may not have to fight a boss'," said Roxas. "He's not really sure if one's here, but there's still the possibility." Koxra sighed.

"I hope we _don't_ find one." Roxas shrugged.

"Hey, what can you do? You'll have to fight a boss one of these days. You should hope it's today since you have someone to help."

"I hope I don't need someone to help me much longer. I _hate_ being helpless," said Koxra.

"Who doesn't," said Roxas. "You ready to move on yet?" Koxra opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, there was a loud crash in the distance followed by screaming.

"What's that?" Roxas looked in the general direction that the sounds had come from. A Heartless was coming toward them, with civilians scrambling to escape if only so they didn't end up like one of the buildings it had crashed through.

The Heartless was armor-like and had to be maybe twenty feet tall. Its arms and legs floated as near as they could without being attached to the torso. It had claws and each foot would likely be the size of a car. It was mainly shades of purple with some red markings and yellow bands on its arms and legs. On its chest was a red, heart-shaped emblem which had a tail hanging from it in the shape of a plus sign. Koxra got to her feet.

"Roxas, _please_ don't tell me that's the boss that Saix wasn't sure was here or not." Roxas summoned his Keyblade.

"Sorry, but it looks that way."

"What is it," asked Koxra.

"A Guard Armor," Roxas replied. "They can be tricky if you're not careful." Koxra's eyes widened.

"But, fighting something that big is obviously gonna be a problem."

"Get your pen out and do what I say," Roxas said. "It should be fine if we do it that way." Koxra summoned her pen.

"Got it."

* * *

**I decided to go with the fight scene the next chapter since this is the minimum amount of pages that I require of myself for a chapter. I hope I did a good job taking time and describing the Guard Armor.**


	6. Ch5 Missions

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

"Okay, I'll distract it and you attack the back of its head," said Roxas. Koxra looked the Guard Armor up and down and then looked back at him.

"Uh, how exactly do I _reach_ its head?"

"Just jump," said Roxas as if that should've been obvious.

"I can't jump that high. I'm not twenty feet tall, Roxas," said Koxra.

"Climb up to one of those buildings up there and jump down," Roxas suggested. Koxra looked up.

"I'll break a leg or worse if I try that." Roxas face-palmed.

"Look, I don't know how that sort of thing is possible, but it _is_. Just trust me on this."

"Well, I don't really have much of an alternative, do I," said Koxra. "Alright, just give me time to get up there. Think you can keep it busy that long?"

"Sure," said Roxas. He ran toward the Guard Armor and randomly shot fire spells at it just to keep it distracted. Koxra, meanwhile, climbed up one of the buildings.

_"I really hope he's right about this. Well, like he said, he's been doing this longer, so I guess he'd know. But jumping from the top of a building and landing unharmed? I'll admit I'm still a little skeptical."_ She got to a ledge up above the Guard Armor and took a deep breath. _"Well, here goes nothing."_ She jumped off the ledge and struck the Heartless about six times with her pen before gravity forced her to fall to the ground. Just as Roxas had assured her, she landed unharmed. _"Wow, that really worked."_ The Guard Armor came apart and fell to the ground.

"Here, you attack one arm and I'll get the other." Koxra sighed.

"I should've known it wouldn't be that easy to beat it." She began attacking the right arm and Roxas the left.

"Keep at it. It's starting to pull itself back together," said Roxas. With one final strike, they dispatched both the arms. The legs reattached and it started stomping after them. "Hit the head again!"

"But, I'd have to climb up there again. Do I have time to do that?" Roxas face-palmed.

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you this, but we can jump higher than normal too. Just go with it. I wish I would've remembered that sooner." Koxra shrugged, went behind the Guard Armor, and tried what he had suggested. To her amazement, it worked and she was able to get six strikes in once more. Her strikes were accompanied by Roxas sending a light ball at its head. It fell apart once more. Getting the general idea, now, Koxra went and attacked one of the legs while Roxas got the other.

After the legs were gone, nothing was left but the head and torso which was floating around after the Nobodies. It slammed into both of them and they fell back. Not seriously injured, they got up and prepared to fight again. Roxas dodge-rolled out of the way of the torso while Koxra jumped to the side and narrowly avoided being hit.

Being the taller of the two, Koxra jumped and started attacking its head while Roxas handled the torso. After roughly fifteen strikes from each of them, the Guard Armor disintegrated and a heart was released. Koxra swayed and fell to her knees after landing on the ground. Roxas walked over to her.

"You okay?" Koxra panted.

"Yeah, for the most part. Man, that took a lot outta me. I think I have some bruises, but nothing serious. You?"

"I got bruised doing this so much that I'm used to it. I'm just a little tired. I'm sure you'll be in better shape after you do this for a while," said Roxas. "You need help?" Koxra shook her head.

"Oh, no, I'll be fine. Just give me a couple minutes to catch my breath. And that was just_ one_ fight."

"Hey, work at it and you'll be fine. In a couple months, I'm sure you'll be pretty used to it," Roxas replied. A mysterious figure was near the side of a building out of sight.

"Hmm, those two just create weapons out of thin air. Interesting. But it seems the girl is a rookie. It wouldn't be profitable to act now. I think I'll wait and maybe watch this area. Who knows, there might be more in their number. I doubt those two are the only ones."

* * *

"Hey, Xion, Roxas and Demyx back yet," asked Axel, stepping out of a portal.

"Well, Demyx is," said Xion. "Roxas was with Koxra today, so it probably took them longer. She _is _just learning after all, so he probably has to let her take breaks." Axel sat on the couch.

"Just hope he isn't having a hard time with her." A portal opened. "See, that's probably them, right now." Koxra staggered out of the portal and collapsed onto the couch. Roxas came out behind her and closed the portal behind him. Koxra wiped her forehead.

"Jeez, I'm pretty beat. This sort of thing will take some getting used to." Axel raised an eyebrow.

"How come you look half-dead?"

"We fought a bunch of Heartless and then we ran into a Guard Armor and had to get rid of it," Roxas explained.

"Whoa, a Guard Armor on your first mission? That's gotta suck," said Axel. Koxra sighed.

"It did. Roxas kinda had to explain that gravity sort of doesn't work normally with us." Axel laughed.

"Oh, that. Yeah, we can't figure out why that is. Not even Vexen and Zex can figure out why that happens and _they're_ basically the two smartest members. All they could come up with is that it has to do with us being Nobodies. Our speed and jumping ability increased upon becoming Nobodies or something like that. That's their best guess."

"That's weird, though," said Koxra.

"Koxra, we're supposed to give our report," Roxas pointed out. Koxra let out a huge groan and leaned back further into the couch.

"C'mon, _really_? Alright, I guess I'll sleep like a baby tonight." She got up and stumbled after Roxas as he left the room.

* * *

"And that's what happened," Roxas concluded. Xemnas studied the two Nobodies before him before replying.

"Do you have anything to add, Fifteen? You haven't said anything yet." Koxra yawned.

"Sorry, Superior, I'm just tired. Do you mind if I don't show up for dinner?" Xemnas considered her request.

"Since you can barely hold your head up or participate in conversation, it would be better if you don't come to dinner. Be sure to be ready for your mission tomorrow."

"I will," Koxra said. "Can I be excused?"

"Yes, you are dismissed," said Xemnas.

* * *

Koxra staggered down the hallway. She ran into something solid and nearly fell over. Once she regained her footing, she looked up and was face-to-face with an annoyed Savage Nymph.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, Larxene," said Koxra. "Didn't see you there." Larxene crossed her arms.

"I'm not invisible. Get out of the hallway if you don't remember how to walk." Koxra waved her off.

"Whatever. I'm not in the mood right now." Larxene walked away. _"I'd say I probably caught her in a pretty decent mood that time. It was good that I did since I'm too tired to deal with her right now."_ Koxra finally reached her room. "Better shower before I get any worse than I already am." After she showered and set her alarm, she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"Xaldin, you didn't cook this right," Axel complained. "I like my steak well-done, got it memorized?" Xaldin jabbed his fork into his steak unnecessarily hard and gritted his teeth.

"Unless _you_ have the skills to take over the cooking duties, I suggest you just be satisfied with what you get, Number Eight." Flames surrounded the steak in question for several minutes and then faded. A satisfied smirk could be seen on Axel's face.

"Quick way to make a steak free of health-code violations. Now I won't get sick off of raw meat." Xaldin tensed up and the vein in his forehead could be seen pulsing. Xigbar caught sight of it.

"Whoa, dude, calm down. What'd you expect?" He then turned to Axel. "Flamesilocks, I suggest you just keep your opinions about the food to yourself unless you'd like to cook every meal for the next week."

"Hey, just trying to avoid salmonella," said Axel. Xaldin slammed his fist on the table.

"For your information, I always wash my hands before preparing food!" Xemnas decided it was time to intervene.

"Both of you, keep your comments to yourselves. Just remember this, Three: _you_ are the cook and Eight is not. I don't want to hear anything else on this topic."

_"About time someone told them off," _Larxene thought. _"That was getting ridiculously annoying. Axel should know by now that Xaldin wouldn't find any insults directed at his cooking funny."_

_ "Idiot pyro," _Marluxia thought. _"Complaining about something that stupid. I'm kind of sorry he _didn't_ eat it. If he _had_, I wouldn't have to put up with him for a while."_

"Superior, might I inquire as to where Number Fifteen has disappeared to," Zexion asked.

"Her room, most likely," Xemnas replied. "She is suffering from classic first-mission exhaustion. I assume she immediately went to sleep."

"Well, she ran into me in the hallway, so she probably did," said Larxene. "Meaning she literally 'ran into me'."

"Larxene, I suggest abandoning that thought process before you become rather unpleasant to be around," said Vexen.

_"How would that be any different from normal,"_ Demyx thought. _"She's _always_ unpleasant to be around. Or maybe that's because she doesn't like me. Does she really like anyone besides Marluxia and possibly Axel?"_ He felt a nudge and turned. "Huh?"

"You almost done," asked Roxas. "Xion and I are done and Axel ripped that steak apart in a matter of minutes." Demyx looked at his plate. Upon seeing what was left on it, he laughed nervously.

"Oh, looks like I finished without noticing. Sorry about that."

* * *

"So, Roxas, how about some details," asked Axel, eating his ice-cream. "How hard was the mission with a newbie?" Roxas thought.

"Not really _that_ hard, though we did have to stop quite a few times. Koxra's not really used to fighting Heartless yet. I'd say she did pretty decent, but the mission wasn't all that hard. She's pretty determined, I'll give her that." Xion studied him for a few seconds.

"So, just to be clear, she didn't give you a hard time?"

"Not really," said Roxas. Demyx was suddenly chuckling from Xion's left. "What's so funny?" Demyx smirked.

"Oh, I wasn't laughing at what you were saying. I just dropped some water on some people down there." Axel rolled his eyes.

"We can't take you anywhere, can we? Stop pissing people off, would you?"

"They technically don't know what's going on since they can't really see up here. They probably just think it's a patch of rain or something," said Demyx. Roxas stared.

"Funny as it is, what if someone figures out what's going on and comes up here? Do you really want to explain yourself to them?" Demyx pouted.

"Fine, ruin my fun, why don't you? I don't get to have much of it. Saix ruined my fun this morning by sending me on a mission. I'd rather not have them. They get in the way of composing." Roxas shook his head.

"You just try and go out of your way to get free time, don't you?" Demyx smirked.

"You bet I do. Composing is much more fun than missions most of the time. Well, that and the occasional prank never hurt anyone." Axel glared.

"Yeah, because a whoopee-cushion was _so_ mature of you. The next time I find one of them on my seat, you're in for it." Demyx laughed nervously and attempted to hide behind Xion.

"She's too short to hide you," said Axel. "I'd just walk around her and get to you anyway."

"Axel, you have to admit that it was one of the few things worth laughing at in this Castle," said Roxas.

"Easy for you to say," said Axel. "_You_ weren't the one who sat on it."

"It's not like it hurt you or anything," said Xion. Demyx cautiously eased away from Xion.

"You're not gonna kill me, are you?" Axel smirked.

"Pull a prank on me again and I'll be tempted." Demyx shrank against the Station Tower.

"Eeep!" Roxas shook his head.

"He wouldn't really do that, Demyx." Axel gave Roxas a shove.

"Oh, so you think you have me figured out, do you?" Roxas shoved him back.

"No, I _know_ I have you figured out. There's a difference." Xion giggled as she stepped back onto the ledge behind them.

"Guys, if you're done, how about we stop trying to decide who has Axel figured out and get back to the Castle?" Axel leaned back and stretched.

"I'm all for it. Let's get going. Come on, Demyx, I'm not killing you." Demyx got up and scratched his head.

"Uh, right, of course you aren't. I knew that."

* * *

Koxra turned her alarm clock off, stretched, and got up. Only then was she aware that, even though she had been excused from dinner, she hadn't gotten herself anything to eat before returning to her room. She groaned and headed to the bathroom, ignoring the hunger cramps in her stomach. She climbed in the shower and turned it on, just realizing that she ached from the mission the day before. When she climbed out of the shower, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Koxra, are you up yet?"

"Hang on, I'm still getting ready," she replied. After a while, she opened the door to the Melodious Nocturne. "What is it?"

"Well, you get stuck with me today," said Demyx. "Or is it I get stuck with you? However you feel like looking at it, I guess. Great, that means I'll probably have to do some fighting."

"I kinda wish _I_ didn't have to fight anything today either," said Koxra. "I'm still sore. Anyway, where are we going?"

"Agrabah of all places," Demyx replied. "There's just so much heat there." Koxra shut the door and joined him in the hallway.

"Yay, what fun. Just let me grab some breakfast first. I didn't have anything to eat since breakfast yesterday. I forgot to eat a little something before I got back to my room."

"Yeah, you get that tired until you're used to the whole routine," said Demyx. "It usually takes a month or more to get used to missions, depending on the person." Koxra bowed her head and sighed as they were walking down the hallway.

"I hope I'm not one of the people who take longer."

"Yeah, that would suck," said Demyx.

* * *

**Oh, yeah, don't know if anyone picked up on this, but with the jumping thing, I was kinda pointing out flaws in Kingdom Hearts logic there. It's just weird how high those guys can jump and how they can jump from the top of a building and land on their feet unharmed, but, hey, that's pretty much what I see a lot of in fictional worlds. Well, that and running up the side of a building (coughRoxascough).**


	7. Ch6 Agrabah and Portals

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

"So, since you've known about your weapon for a while, have you named it yet," asked Demyx. Koxra thought.

"I was thinking of calling it Daem." Demyx blinked.

"Uh, where did that come from?"

"I took a couple random letters from 'mind-reader' and threw them together," Koxra replied.

"I think you waste too much of your free time playing word games," said Demyx. "By the way, did Xemnas call you to get your Proof named yet?"

"I think he was waiting until I knew what my element was so it would be easier to come up with a name that references it in some way," said Koxra. "Do we get to pick our own?" Demyx laughed.

"That all depends on the circumstances. Most of us got to pick our own. Well, except for Roxas and Xion, but those two were pretty out of it for the longest time, so Xemnas took care of theirs."

"Oh, so I probably will," Koxra said.

"Like I said, Roxas and Xion were the only two who _were_ out of it, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to pick your own," Demyx replied.

"What exactly _is_ the name of Xion's Proof anyway," asked Koxra. Demyx blinked.

"She's your mentor and she never told you?" Koxra shrugged.

"It didn't really come up."

"Oh, well, it's Nothing's Light," said Demyx. "I guess because of the light element and the fact that Nobodies are technically 'nothing' in a sense."

"Makes sense," Koxra said. "Man, is it _always_ this hot here?" Demyx sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes. Let's just try to get this done fast." Koxra was making a mental note to ask Xemnas if it would be acceptable to wear something _other_ than the coat for missions in Agrabah. She had been sweating since she stepped out of the portal. No, even _before_ that. Just feeling the heat coming in through the portal was enough for her to start sweating.

Koxra wondered why the heat seemed to affect Demyx less than her. He didn't look like he was sweating much at all, but Demyx usually went out of his way _not_ to sweat because he just hated it. Koxra could sort of understand that, even if she didn't agree with it, but Demyx seemed to help out when it counted, so she didn't press the issue any further.

_"He can just douse himself in water or something if he gets too hot, so I don't really know what his deal with sweating is. Well, he wouldn't be able to get a chance to douse himself if he was in the middle of a fight, so, I guess that's why he doesn't do it more often. Man, I hope we get through with this before I die of heatstroke." _Unaware that Demyx had stopped, she ran into him. "Oh, sorry. Why'd you stop?" Demyx pointed.

"I thought you might like to prepare before we tackle those Heartless over there. You're lucky with those Loudmouths. They aren't that tough." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what you call those things that have horns for mouths?"

"One of the types, yeah," said Demyx. "There are others, but, thankfully, we don't have to deal with them today. Just get rid of about twenty of these and we can RTC." Koxra blinked.

"RTC?"

"Return to the Castle," Demyx replied. "Probably less than what you killed yesterday, but those guys have learned not to expect much effort out of me. Well, let's get this over with." He summoned his sitar and Koxra summoned her pen. Then they went to work.

* * *

"Time to move it, couch potato." Axel groaned and rolled over. "Get your ass off the couch!" Axel woke up to find himself on the floor. He got up and rubbed his head.

"What the _hell_, Larxene? What's the deal with throwing me on the floor?" Larxene was now seated on the couch.

"I wanted to sit down and your feet were in the way. I'm not standing around all day to wait for you to move." Axel glared at her.

"So you throw me off the couch?" Larxene shrugged.

"You wouldn't wake up."

"Well, why _this_ couch? There's another one over there!"

"That one doesn't have a coffee table that I can prop my feet on." Axel shook his head.

"Eh, just forget it." He walked out into the hallway. "Hey, Zex, back so soon?" Zexion rolled his eyes.

"I never left. Perhaps if you weren't busy sleeping in the Grey Area all day, you would've known that. There are only four of us still here, after all." Axel stared.

"Don't tell me Xemnas and Saix are gone too. They usually stick around the Castle all day. Is the Icicle still here?"

"Yes. Though, he probably has asked you numerous times not to call him that. What did you do to start an argument with Larxene," said Zexion. Axel's eyes widened.

"_Me_? _She's _the one kicking me off the couch! I was just sleeping and she comes up and tells me to get off the couch. _I_ didn't do anything." Zexion let out a slight chuckle.

"You did. You ignored her. You _know_ what happens when you ignore her. Well, perhaps you _don't_ since you failed to predict what would happen if you pretended she wasn't there." Axel rolled his eyes.

"I'm really not in the mood right now. I think I'll go and finish my nap in my room."

* * *

"Well, that's twenty," said Demyx, banishing his sitar. Koxra panted.

"Finally." She banished her pen and suddenly fell over. She shut her eyes just to try and imagine that she was someplace cool for a couple minutes. It was working until she felt Demyx shaking her.

"Hey now, this isn't the time to be passing out. I know it's hot, but it won't help if you just lay here." Koxra opened her eyes.

"I might be suffering from heat exhaustion or something. These coats are so hot. Especially in a desert world. Doesn't Xemnas have any summer-wear made?"

"Afraid not," Demyx replied. "If he did, I wouldn't make that big a deal out of sweating because I'd be doing less of it." Koxra groaned.

"I feel like I just wanna lay here and die." Demyx shook his head.

"Alright, guess I have to do this the hard way." Water splashed on Koxra's face.

"Hey, that feels a little better. Thanks." Demyx opened a portal.

"No problem. Now, how about we RTC?" Koxra got up slowly.

"Well, at least I _know_ it's cooler at the Castle."

* * *

"Wonder if Demyx is done dragging Koxra around Agrabah yet," said Axel, heading to the Grey Area. Hearing voices, he paused outside of the room.

"What happened? She looks awful."

"We _were_ in Agrabah, Xion. It was hot there. Why does Xemnas want missions done there if he's gonna make us wear these hot coats? I damn near passed out from heat exhaustion."

"Not quite 'passed out', but you _did_ fall over."

"Thing is, if you hadn't splashed me in the face I most likely _would've_ passed out and you would've had to lug my sorry ass back here, Demyx, so I guess it's good for both of us that I stayed conscious. Anyway, shouldn't we report to Xemnas?"

"Don't bother. He's not here. I heard from Axel that he went somewhere this morning and hasn't gotten back yet."

"Well, as much as I hate this idea, where's Saix?"

"No idea." Axel's curiosity was getting the best of him, so he decided to enter the room. When he walked in, Xion and Demyx were standing next to the couch that Larxene had forced him to vacate earlier. Koxra, however, was sitting on the couch and had removed her coat, gloves, and boots. She was now wearing the t-shirt and pants that she had had on underneath and was fanning herself with a magazine that she found nearby. Axel made his way over to the other three, giving Koxra a questioning look.

"Any reason why you completely removed your uniform?" He was hoping that none of them had noticed him listening in. Koxra looked at him like he had just asked her what a Shadow Heartless looked like.

"I'm drenched in sweat! Do you have any idea how hot it is in Agrabah?" Axel chuckled.

"Not really since my element is fire, so my body temperature tends to be higher than what's considered normal."

"Oh, right, forgot about that," said Koxra. "Sorry. Being hot really makes me irritable."

"Actually, I think heat does that to _most_ people," said Axel. "But still, you should get to your room in case Xemnas comes back or Saix pops in. You'd be in _major_ trouble for being out of uniform." Koxra blinked.

"They don't even care that I would've passed out from heat exhaustion if I _didn't_?"

"Those two don't care about much of anything," said Demyx. "They don't even _try_ to do things that aren't relevant to the job we do. Those guys are all about business. I know we're technically living in a state of non-existence right now, but, still, they should try to do something fun every once and a while."

"And that, Demyx, is why they're both always mad at you," Axel pointed out. "You have _too much_ fun. Nothing wrong with a little, but find a healthy balance that doesn't get you yelled at."

"So, all three of them take things to extremes," asked Xion. "Neither extreme seems like a good idea." Demyx shrugged.

"Hey, I'm pretty much all about _avoiding_ work and those two are _all about_ work. That's why we don't get along." Koxra gathered her gloves and boots and wrapped them in her coat. She stood up with her bundle and started to stager to the door. Axel face-palmed.

"You'll fall in the hallway before you get to your room." He opened a portal. "There, use that."

"Thanks," said Koxra, disappearing into the portal. Demyx stared.

"Uh, Axel, she can't close that you know." Axel groaned.

"Oh, come on! Really? I guess I'll just have to go in there myself and close it behind her." He walked over to the portal. "Jeez, extra work just for a good deed." He disappeared into the portal. Xion stared at the spot Axel had just vanished.

"How did he forget that she couldn't portal yet?" Demyx shrugged.

"Long day of nothing but napping so he's not as focused as usual? Anyway, when _did_ Xemnas give you the okay to teach her to portal?"

"Tomorrow after he takes her to name her Proof. Today was her last mission this week. It'll be a couple more weeks before she's built up to the same mission schedule as the rest of us. After all, she's only been here a couple months and spent a good deal of the time just trying to get the hang of fighting with her pen and discovering her element," Xion replied.

"Yeah, it took about that long for the rest of us. That's why I'm wondering: how did Roxas pick things up so fast," said Demyx. Xion shrugged.

"Got me. Maybe he's just a natural? Either that, or maybe it's instinct from his Other, whoever his Other was." Demyx thought.

"If it _is_ instinct from his Other, I guess we'll never know since he can't remember."

* * *

"Hold on, what do I do about this open portal," Koxra asked, studying the portal she had just come through. Suddenly, it closed. "Hmm, maybe Axel remembered I can't make portals yet and closed it." She shrugged and headed to the bathroom. _"I wonder if Xemnas'll be back tonight. If not, when exactly do we give him the report? Eh, forget it. I'm sure Demyx'll come get me if he has to. I better pop in the kitchen and get something to eat after my shower."_

* * *

"Nine, the Superior has returned and is asking for mission reports," said Saix. "He noticed that you and Fifteen were absent from those giving reports."

"Oh, sorry," said Demyx. "When did he get back?"

"Roughly thirty minutes ago," Saix replied. "If you hadn't been hiding out in your room this whole time, you would've known. Where is Fifteen?" Demyx shrugged.

"Probably still in her room. She went to clean herself up." Saix crossed his arms.

"And why did she not seek out the Superior?"

"Well, since she's been in her room since we got back, _she_ probably didn't know he was back either." Saix sighed.

"Very well. I suggest you find her and report to the Superior. Preferably within the hour."

* * *

"Ugh, what is it _now_," Koxra groaned after hearing a knock at her door. "I'm trying to get some sleep." She opened the door and blinked. "Oh, wait, Demyx, don't tell me—."

"Yep, he's back," Demyx interrupted. "According to Saix, he's been back for about a half-hour." Koxra sighed.

"And of course he wants the report _right now_, doesn't he? Man, Xemnas has the worst timing in the worlds. I was just about to go to sleep." Demyx studied her.

"While I agree that you need it, it's not a good idea to keep him waiting."

"Alright, just let me put a coat on," said Koxra. She shut the door and came out a couple minutes later in her Organization garb. Demyx could plainly see her reluctance to go and give the report, having been in a similar position more than once.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Nine, Fifteen, you are both late in giving your report," said Xemnas. Koxra rolled her eyes. Fortunately, Xemnas had not been looking at her.

_"Bravo, Xemnas. Forget being _Captain_ of the obvious. You're a _god_ of the obvious._ We weren't aware that you were back, Superior." Xemnas looked up.

"You should have waited outside the office until my return. But, what's done is done, I suppose." Koxra blinked.

_"He expects us to wait for him? What if it would've taken the rest of the night until his return? What if he didn't come back until tomorrow? What's he expect us to do, camp out in the hallway? Forget it, I'm not about to argue with his unique take on logic."_ Demyx cleared his throat.

"Well, Superior, our mission was a success. We actually ended up eliminating double the amount of Loudmouths because so many were in the area."

"Excellent work," said Xemnas. "Very well. Do you have anything to add, Fifteen?"

"Just that Agrabah was ridiculously hot, but I guess you wouldn't consider that relevant to the mission, would you," said Koxra.

"You are correct," said Xemnas. "I hope there isn't a repeat of procrastination in the future. You are both dismissed."

* * *

"Koxra, you awake yet," asked Xion. Koxra zippered her coat and went to open the door.

"Yeah, I've been up for a while now. So, what's on today's agenda? I guess I don't have any missions since you're coming to get me."

"No, you don't," said Xion as Koxra shut the door and made her way into the hall. "Xemnas wants you in Proof of Existence right away this morning."

"Huh, for what," asked Koxra.

"You're naming your Proof," Xion replied. Koxra blinked.

"Okay, so I've known about my element for a couple weeks already and he's just _now_ getting to this?"

"He was busy," said Xion. "Doing what, I don't know."

* * *

"Ah, Fifteen, I assume you know what you're here for," said Xemnas.

"I'm supposed to name my Proof, right," asked Koxra.

"Indeed," Xemnas replied. "I usually allow a week or so for a new member's element to become known. This should've been done last week, but I've been preoccupied. Now, then, have you thought of anything yet?" Koxra thought.

"I've been thinking somewhere along the lines of 'Mind Mage'." Xemnas considered the name.

"I'll admit that it's fitting for your element. Mind Mage it is, then."

* * *

"So, what're we doing today," asked Koxra after she and Xion had breakfast and arrived in the training room.

"Today is the day I teach you how to portal," Xion replied.

"Well, it's about time," said Koxra. "I was wondering when I'd get to learn."

"Would you like a demonstration first or should we just get to it," asked Xion. Koxra stared.

"Nah, I've seen it done enough. Just go for it." Xion thought about how best to proceed.

"To start with, you have to focus on getting one to open." Koxra groaned.

"Great, more focusing?" Xion laughed.

"What, did you expect it to be easy? Just get the hang of that and we'll move on." Koxra took a deep breath and held her hand out. She visualized a portal in front of her. A small one appeared after about fifteen minutes, but not nearly big enough for anything save a mouse to pass through. It then vanished. Aggravated, Koxra tried again.

It was a full hour later before she could summon up a portal big enough to walk through. "Hey, Xion, I got it." Xion picked her head up.

"Oh, sorry. I sort of got bored there. Well, you got it, so now for the next step. Picture a destination. Since you haven't done it before, just try going to the wall. Be sure you concentrate." Koxra focused and walked into the portal.

_"I didn't think of what could happen if she messes this up,"_ Xion thought. _"Well, all I can do is hope she gets it right."_ There was the sound of a portal opening. Xion let loose a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. "Good, you made it through." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I have made it through?"

"I thought you might not have been completely focused," said Xion. "Thankfully, closing it is easier. Just picture it vanishing." A few minutes later, Koxra managed to close the portal.

"I think it was probably just dumb luck that I didn't get lost. Should I keep practicing it?"

"For at least another hour, then we'll move onto fighting practice," said Xion.

* * *

**Finally done with this chapter. It ended up being longer than what I usually turn out. Not by much, though. This is six pages and a quarter of the seventh.**


	8. Ch7 The Circle

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Cyril, Rioris, Kairen, Kayla, Luna, Cria, the middle-aged man, Shrouded Forest, and the Witches of the Circle. **_**Les Miserables **_**belongs to Victor Hugo.**

* * *

"What are you doing here, Cyril," asked a woman with light-blue hair and green eyes. She had been entering the building where the meeting took place when she saw him lighting up a pipe in the front of the building. The man with brown hair and brown eyes looked up after taking a few puffs from the pipe.

"What kind of greeting is that, Rioris? Ah, let me guess: you found something intriguing and it has interfered with your manner." Rioris smiled.

"Something like that, you could say. I thought you were going to quit." Cyril chuckled.

"It's not as if I'm smoking a cigarette. Besides, I've grown too used to it to be able to stop." Rioris rolled her eyes.

"Of course. A cigarette wouldn't be dignified enough for you. Still, would you mind putting it out?"

"I have only just started smoking it." He sighed. "Actually, I suppose I'd better since Cria won't allow it during the meeting." He did so. Rioris kissed him soon afterward. "Is that the reason you wanted me to put the pipe out?" Rioris smirked.

"That's it exactly. So, what are you doing here? This is a meeting for the Witches of the Circle."

"Am I not affiliated with the Circle," asked Cyril. "Besides, I have something to present." Rioris studied him.

"Kairen and Kayla will ignore anything that's insignificant, you know. You might have luck with Luna, though. She enjoys hearing more information about anything solely so she can absorb it. Not literally, of course, since information doesn't have a life force and she wouldn't be able to drain it if it did."

"I'm confident that this will be very significant," said Cyril. "When will the meeting begin?"

"It's set to start soon, but that will depend on if Luna can lift her nose from her book long enough to pay any actual attention," Rioris replied. Cyril crossed his arms.

"I was under the impression that Cria made a rule about that after the last time I attended a meeting and Luna was too caught up reading _Les Miserables_. What about that book appealed to her is beyond me."

"Yes, there is a rule now, but I wouldn't put it past Luna to hide her book under the table and read it anyway," said Rioris. "Although, Kairen could probably just encase her book in ice so she pays attention." Cyril smirked.

"Or, you could paralyze her body for the duration of the meeting." Rioris laughed.

"True, I could do that, but why deny Cria the right to blow up at her?"

"The right to blow up at whom, may I ask?" Behind them was a woman with green eyes and blonde hair.

"Luna," said Rioris. "I'd make sure she doesn't sneak a book in anyhow if I were you, Cria." Cria crossed her arms.

"Idiot girl has her nose in a book more often than she actually debates on matters concerning the Circle. I would've thought that sixteen years of life was plenty long enough to quit living in her own fantasy land all the time." Rioris sighed.

"Some kids just stay kids, I guess." Cria raised an eyebrow upon seeing Cyril.

"And what are you doing here?"

"I have something to present," he replied. "Something that I think you'll like."

"Does it have to do with those creatures called Heartless," asked Cria.

"You could say that," said Cyril. "But I suggest we wait until the meeting is underway before I disclose the rest."

"Fair enough," said Cria.

* * *

"It's 4:00 in the morning, Axel," Koxra yawned. "What's so important that it couldn't wait two more hours?"

"Well, Xemnas just said we're supposed to take a trip to your old haunting grounds and he wants us gone like five minutes ago," said Axel. Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"My old 'haunting grounds'? I'm not one of the undead." Axel face-palmed.

"It's an expression. Now, come on. The boss man said we need to move." Koxra groaned.

"Fine, I'll be out after I get dressed." She shut the door and went to her closet. "Why does he see the need to send us out this early?"

"Maybe it has to do with the Heartless population? Got me. _I'm_ not the mind-reader here. Though, I thought you'd be used to him doing this kind of thing by now." Finding her uniform for the day, Koxra headed to the bathroom.

"Well, come to think of it, he _did_ send me out with Luxord last week at 2:00am, so I guess four is a little bit of an improvement."

"Bet that was a problem since good old Lux didn't stagger in until around midnight. The Superior just so happened to catch him on his birthday after he'd been out drinking most of the night. I think he does that on purpose because he knows Luxord does that every year on his birthday. Was he still capable of functioning?" Koxra snorted.

"He wasn't doing much good. It was a good thing we didn't have to fight anything because I _doubt_ he could've dodged in that condition. I eventually got fed up and splashed his face with water from a barrel I found in an alley to attempt to sober him up." Axel was out in the hallway chuckling.

"What'd he do after that?"

"Well, he turned around and glared at me. If looks could kill, I'd probably be dead. He was eventually grateful for that, but he warned me not to be loud because he felt a hangover coming."

"It's probably a good thing that you sobered him up or you would've had a problem with being sneaky." Koxra grabbed her comb.

"Yeah. Can't exactly operate using stealth if one of us stumbles around drunk. Why'd Xemnas even send him out like that if he knew he would be drunk?"

"Maybe he thought two hours would be enough to sleep it off. Xemnas assumes he slept all of those two hours, but I doubt he did. If he _had_, it probably wouldn't have been that hard for him to walk straight."

"He can sober up that fast?"

"I didn't say he'd be _fully_ sober, but he'd be able to function almost normally. He might've had a headache, but he'd end up being mostly normal."

"If he could do that on two hours of sleep, I don't think I want to know what his alcohol tolerance is."

"You done in there yet?"

"Almost," Koxra replied. She sat down her comb and went to the door. "Okay, now I'm done. Are we eating breakfast first, or should we just wait till we get back?"

"I'd wait," said Axel. "No sense having Xemnas get pissed."

* * *

"Now that we're all here, let's get down to business," said Cria. "Cyril, first I'd like to know why exactly you are here." Cyril cleared his throat and stood.

"Honored ladies of the Circle, I'm pleased to announce that I have managed to create a new type of Heartless from data I have obtained from other Heartless. I took the data and modified it to create a unique breed that I have discovered how to control."

"And I assume you have an example with you," said Kairen. Cyril chuckled.

"Dear Kairen, do you honestly think I'd announce something like this without proof? Just watch." In floated a creature that looked like a huge, purple balloon. It had eight tentacles which had sharp, sword-like ends. It stopped near Cyril. "Well, what do you think of it?" Cria rubbed her chin.

"Interesting. Does this creature have a name?"

"I have decided to call them Balloons for lack of a better term." Rioris raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Cyril turned to her.

"Unless you have a better idea, Balloons is what it will be. Their fighting style consists of spinning mostly, but they also wrap a victim in their tentacles." Cria thought.

"Sounds perfect. Kayla, Luna, what do you think?" The twenty-year-old with green hair and green eyes who was Kayla, thought for a minute.

"Interesting fighting style. No doubt it would be effective in eliminating victims. Well, considering that they are Heartless, they wouldn't have to eliminate anyone. Just steal the person's heart and they're done."

"Well said," said Cria. "Luna?" Kairen formed an ice ball and placed it on the head of the green-eyed brunette who was next to her, more focused on the book in her hands than the meeting. The girl screamed and shook her head, knocking the ice ball off it. It shattered upon hitting the floor.

"What was _that_ for?" Kairen rolled her eyes.

"What do you think? You were reading during a meeting again. Cria was asking for an opinion."

"Oh," said Luna. "What was the question?" Rioris face-palmed and rolled her eyes. Cria decided to ignore the gestures.

"We were talking about the fighting style of these Balloons Cyril managed to create. What do you think of grabbing prey with tentacles and unleashing mainly spin attacks?"

"Hmm, kinda leaves them a bit limited, doesn't it," said Luna. "But, that's probably all they will need, isn't it? Plus, since they haven't been on the scene before, no one will really know anything about them."

"If you hadn't given some useful points, I'd be angrier with the fact that you were reading," said Cria. "Alright, Rioris, your report?" Rioris stood as Cyril sat down and the Balloon floated away.

"For the past couple months, I have been spying on this certain group of individuals who wear black coats. I've seen them form weapons out of thin air and fight the Heartless with them." Cria raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds as though they are some specialized group of some sort and the coats are a sort of uniform. Do they have a name of any sort?"

"I haven't heard an actual name, but the term, 'Nobody' has come from several of them on more than one occasion," said Rioris. Cyril stroked his chin.

"I believe I can offer some insight. I've heard rumors around Hollow Bastion that 'Nobody', with a capital 'n', of course, is used to refer to those without hearts." All eyes were on him. Shockingly, Luna was attentive.

"What? But I thought that when someone's heart gets stolen, that's it, they're dead or forever doomed to wander darkness, or something like that."

"That usually is the general idea," said Cyril. "However, it seems that some have found a way to still exist and hold onto their identities. Whether or not they actually _do_ lack hearts is a matter that would require some evidence to properly evaluate." Luna blinked.

"You're not suggesting we catch some and cut them open, are you?"

"Why, that's exactly what I'm suggesting," said Cyril. "In the name of science, we must. After all, you can hardly still call them people now, can you?"

"What about draining them," asked Rioris. "They still have to have some sort of life-force, even if they _don't_ have hearts. They also seem to have strange powers of their own. Perhaps we could absorb these powers by draining them."

"Not a bad idea," said Cria. "And I assume that you want first dibs, Rioris?" Rioris stared.

"I assumed that much would be self-explanatory."

* * *

"Hmm, you actually got us here," said Axel, stepping out of the portal. Koxra was behind him and closed it.

"And what made you expect anything less? I've been working on it for weeks, so why _wouldn't_ I get us to our destination?" Axel chuckled.

"I'm just messing with you. But, this _is_ the first time we've been on a mission together since you learned how to portal."

"Hmm, didn't realize that," said Koxra. "It _has _been a while since we were on a mission together, hasn't it?"

"Hey, you two!" The Nobodies turned and saw a middle-aged man. "You wouldn't be heading into Shrouded Forest, would you?" Axel studied him.

"Some reason we shouldn't be?"

"It's just that there have been a lot of tornados in that area recently," said the man.

"Right, we'll keep that in mind," said Axel. He started walking. "A little paranoid, huh? Just because there _have_ been tornados, it doesn't guarantee that one will show up." He stopped when he realized the Mind Mage wasn't following him. "Come on, Koxra, this is no time to be standing around." Koxra just stood there, apparently frozen.

_"Tornados? No, not here. But what if one touched down?" _Axel waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hello, anyone in there? Your mind didn't somehow float out of your body, did it?" Koxra shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh, what were you saying?"

"Well, now that I've established there's a working mind in there, what's wrong with you," asked Axel. Koxra felt as though her stomach acid was boiling, but had been immediately frozen afterward.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking and I kinda spaced out. Well, let's go." After she had gotten a few steps ahead of Axel, he followed.

_"Something's up with her. Does she honestly think I'm that stupid? I know damn well she wasn't spacing out. Every other time she spaces out, she looks down more like she's using some kind of method to focus easier. This time, she was looking straight at me and wasn't reacting. Not to mention her eyes were huge. Well, it's not like I can read her mind if she doesn't want to say anything. Still, now's not the time to try and get it out of her."_

"Axel, _hello_," said Koxra. Axel looked up.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was just wondering which way we're supposed to go," said Koxra. "We've reached a fork."

"Oh, uh, why don't we flip a coin," Axel suggested. Koxra stared.

"Bad idea unless _you_ happen to have some, cuz _I_ don't." Axel thought.

"Let's just go right, then. It's a good thing that we're just on heart collection. With luck, we won't have to fight any bosses." Koxra was trailing along behind him.

"Yeah, those fights take a while. What the hell? Why is it suddenly pitch-black?" Axel summoned a fireball into his hand.

"Got me. Maybe an eclipse? No matter what it is, though, I'm not sure how much this little fireball will help." He paused for a moment. "Do you hear a freight train?"

"Yeah," said Koxra. "But what would one of those be doing in the middle of a forest? And is it just me, or does the sky look a little…green?" Axel looked up.

"Come to think of it, it does. And, aside from that cloud being huge and dark, isn't it a little…low?"

"Axel, it's hailing. Can we just leave now?" Her voice was soft and came out sounding somewhat like a squeak, but there was no mistaking the intense fear in it. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Look, we're not leaving just because the weather's going haywire. I'm sure it'll calm down." He turned as the roar of a freight train got louder and saw the funnel touch down. "I guess we _are_ getting out of here." He opened a portal. "Come on." Koxra didn't move. "Hey, a minute ago you were all for getting out of here. What happened?" The wind was getting stronger. "Dammit, we don't have time for this. You'll get sucked into it!" Sensing that trying to snap her out of whatever trance she was in was doing no good, Axel grabbed her and dragged her into the portal.

* * *

After roughly a half-hour of trying to bring Koxra back to reality, Axel was almost at a loss for ideas. "Hold on. I wonder if smacking her would work. Eh, it's worth a shot." He did so and she blinked.

"Oww, what the hell was that for?"

"Oh, so you _were_ still in there," said Axel. "For a while there, I thought you might have become a Mindless." Koxra glared at him.

"That still hurt! Why'd you do it?"

"Let's see," said Axel. "We were in Forlit on a mission, remember that?" He received a blank stare. "Hey, just making sure. Anyway, some guy was saying tornados had been in the area we were heading to—"

"I remember all of that," Koxra snapped. "What I'm confused about is what happened after it started hailing."

"Jeez, you should've said something sooner instead of letting me keep going," said Axel. He was met with cerulean eyes glaring daggers at him and he chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'm done messing around. So, after you said something about the hail and I more or less said to stop making excuses, I noticed that a tornado was headed right for us, so I opened a portal. I turned around, but you weren't moving. I tried a couple times to get your attention, but you just stood there. Obviously, time was a huge factor, so I just ended up dragging you into the portal and spent like the last half-hour trying to snap you out of your trance, for lack of a better word." Koxra blinked.

"Trance?"

"Yeah," Axel replied. "It was really strange."

"Man, I can't believe I did that," said Koxra.

"_Why_ exactly did you do that," asked Axel. Koxra sighed.

"In case it wasn't already obvious, I have a very literal paralyzing fear of tornados. Meaning that, whenever I know one's coming, I freeze up instead of running like most normal people." Axel studied her.

"That would've been nice to know _before_ we ran into one. Like, oh, how about when that guy first mentioned them? If you'd been alone, you would've gotten sucked into it, I hope you know. How am I supposed to be prepared for something like that if you don't bother to tell me?" Koxra blinked.

_"Great, he sounds mad._ Sorry, I didn't think about that." Axel crossed his arms.

"Obviously. Next time, though, try thinking of it. If it's something that could cause problems later on during the mission, I need to know about it."

"Understood," said Koxra. "And, Axel?" Axel turned.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," said Axel.

* * *

**I believe I'll end it there. Seems like a good spot. So, I actually brought the Witches of the Circle in and came up with a purpose for them (though I probably won't reveal that purpose yet). And, introducing Rioris having a larger part. By the way, all the Witches of the Circle have green eyes. You know, just in case no one picked up on that.**


	9. Ch8 Down Time

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

"So, uh, where exactly are we," asked Koxra, trying to shake off some embarrassment.

"Twilight Town," Axel replied. "If you want a more specific answer, we're at the top of the Station Tower in Twilight Town. I thought it would be the best place to go so we wouldn't attract any unwanted attention." Koxra looked around.

"I guess people don't come up here a lot, huh?" Axel leaned against the wall.

"No, they don't. I come up here with Demyx, Roxas, and Xion almost every day and we never see anyone else." Koxra smirked.

"I guess you come up here for some privacy, huh? I don't blame you. Those crowds in the evening are terrible, especially around the shops."

"Yeah, I know," said Axel. "Listen, we should probably get back to the mission now that your mind decided to come back." Koxra's eyes widened.

"But, what about the tornado?"

"It's been over a half hour," Axel pointed out. "It's probably gone now. An incredible destructive force, but thankfully, it doesn't last that long. Let's just hope that if it leveled the forest, Heartless still show up." Koxra shuddered. "Oh, come on, I was just kidding. Guess it's too soon for harmless jokes about it, huh?"

"You _think_," said Koxra, crossing her arms. "It's not funny. Everyone's scared of something. Sometimes more than _one_ thing. Tornados are just a huge issue with me." Axel shrugged.

"Some people aren't scared of anything. I know _I'm_ not." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I _doubt_ that." Axel smirked.

"Think whatever you want then. Ready to get back to the mission?" Koxra shrugged.

"Might as well. I doubt Xemnas'll be happy if we don't."

* * *

"Hey, Xion, have you seen Axel anywhere," asked Roxas. "It's almost dinner." Xion shrugged.

"Maybe something happened on his mission with Koxra and it's holding them up." A portal opened.

"I told you that you were way too close to that Defender. You're lucky you didn't get a concussion."

"I didn't see it!"

"How could you _not_? The thing has a dog head on its shield! That's pretty noticeable!"

"Axel, enough already. I'm not in the mood. I _did _get rammed into a tree after all."

"I take it there were some problems?" Axel crossed his arms.

"What gave you _that_ idea, Zex?" Zexion looked up from his book.

"Mostly Fifteen's reactions upon exiting the portal. Judging from what I've just heard, I assume that she wasn't paying attention and a Defender charged at her shield first and sent her flying into a tree."

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," said Axel. "She's lucky she didn't break anything."

"Well, now that everyone's up to speed, I'd like to get cleaned up," said Koxra. Axel grabbed her shoulder.

"I don't think so. Xemnas is waiting for the report. We're already late." Koxra pulled away from him.

"Oh, come on! I smell horrible and I'm filthy!" Axel rolled his eyes.

"You're not about to die from lack of hygiene, so I suggest you move it. The sooner we give the report, the sooner you can clean yourself up."

"Fine," Koxra groaned as she stormed off, grumbling to herself. Axel shook his head and followed.

"Well, Axel seems to have his hands full with her," said Xion. Zexion returned to his book.

"She merely needs to learn that, unless there is a medical emergency, the Superior comes first."

* * *

"I trust you have a valid reason for being late," said Xemnas. Koxra gulped.

"Well, there was—"

"There was a tornado in the area," Axel cut in. "We had to leave and wait for it to pass."

"I suppose that's a valid reason," said Xemnas. "I can't really see anyone completing a mission when there is a destructive storm nearby."

Axel began giving the mission report and Koxra started thinking. Why did he cut her off? More importantly, why did he leave out that it took longer than necessary to wait out the storm because she had been in a trance? It was mostly her fault after all. She thought he wouldn't turn down an opportunity to blame her for causing a complication. She felt a shove. "Huh?"

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to get cleaned up," said Axel. Koxra snapped back to reality.

"Oh yeah. I did." Axel stared.

"Stop standing around, then." She followed him out the door. "It's not healthy to think that hard, got it memorized?"

"I just got lost in thought," said Koxra. "Also, I was wondering something. Why didn't you mention anything about me being in a trance?"

"Xemnas doesn't need to know all the details about why we took so long," said Axel. "No sense getting him in a bad mood when it can be avoided. Besides, it's not like you woke up this morning, checked the weather in Forlit, and decided you would freeze up when you got there. The only thing you did wrong was not mentioning your problem with tornados ahead of time." Koxra sighed.

"So you already pointed out. I get it. Can I go now? I _really_ want to shower before I eat something."

"According to the clock in Xemnas's office, you only have about a half hour before dinner," said Axel. "Are you sure that's enough time to get sorted out?"

"Well, probably if you let me leave right now," said Koxra. Axel scratched his head.

"Oh yeah. Standing around talking isn't helping, is it? See ya at dinner, then."

* * *

"Huh, what was a tornado doing in Forlit," asked Demyx. Koxra shrugged as she picked up a drumstick.

"No idea. It's the first I've seen there, but it's not like I was near the Shrouded Forest a lot. Most people usually avoided that place like the plague. I guess now I know why."

"Really," asked Demyx. "I never noticed that when I went on missions there." Axel chuckled.

"Well, you were probably lounging around somewhere trying to get as much sitar playing in as possible while no one was around to stop you. I wouldn't be surprised if passersby dropped some coins near you like they thought that was the reason you were playing an instrument in the street." Demyx stared.

"That's not funny. Heartless drop munny and I'm finding some on the ground a lot, so why would I need to be a street musician?" Roxas turned to him with huge eyes.

"How are you finding some on the ground? I never see any."

"Perhaps some of Ten's luck rubbed off on him," said Zexion. "Either that or Nine isn't completely focused and is purposely searching the ground for munny instead of completing his missions quickly. That could be the reason why he finds so much."

"You had better not be doing that, Nine," said Saix. Demyx gulped.

"I'm not. Jeez, I deserve a little credit. _Even though I _am_ actually doing that, but there's no way I'm about to tell anyone. They'd be watching me and I'd never get to have any fun."_

_"I seriously doubt he's telling the truth,"_ Saix thought._ "I can't prove anything, though, so I shouldn't even mention it. I think Nine needs to be observed more closely to make sure that he's _not_ wasting time doing that. I suppose I could arrange for Berserkers to follow him if I felt the need to. Right now, however, I believe I'll just pay close attention to the amount of time it takes him to complete a mission."_

* * *

"You better watch out, Demyx," said Axel. Demyx blinked and turned to the red-head.

"Huh? Why? It's not like anyone said anything." Axel face-palmed.

"You obviously didn't see the look Saix was giving you."

"Look? His face didn't look any different from usual," said Demyx. Axel shook his head.

"Trust me, it was there. You don't know him as well as I do. He knows you were lying. So do I, by the way." He laughed at Demyx's dumbfounded look. "You didn't realize that? Come on, you're so easy to read that you're like a mystery story that shows the audience the crime and perpetrator beforehand." Demyx blinked.

"That's actually done?" Axel shrugged.

"I think Koxra was talking about some show she was watching the other day that did that. Kind of defeats the purpose of a mystery, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," said Demyx. "How am I so easy to read?"

"Got me," Axel replied. "You just are. Point is, I would be doing more along the lines of actual work if I were you. Saix is bound to be keeping tabs on you." Demyx groaned.

"Oh, come on. Now I'll have to try and hide from Saix just to get some free time."

"Maybe if you weren't so obvious, you wouldn't have a problem," Axel said, leaning against the wall. Demyx sighed.

"Man, I _hate_ being easy to read."

"Is there a reason you two are in the corridor instead of heading off to your rooms?"

"We're just talking, Saix," Axel replied. "No rules against it."

"There is when it's past curfew," said Saix. "I suggest both of you head off to bed. Any talking you have to do can be done there." Axel stood up straight.

"Alright, already. We're going." They went in their rooms.

"Whew, that was a close one," Demyx said as the Luna Diviner's footsteps faded.

"Honestly, he needs to get off his high horse," Axel said. "Sometimes I swear he's acting like _he's_ the Superior." Demyx yawned.

"Well, guess it's time to turn in. Wouldn't want Saix to come in here, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't," Axel replied. "I'm not in the mood for it. Well, I'm never in the mood for Saix's lecturing anyhow, so I don't want more of it less than ten minutes later." Demyx laughed.

"Yeah, that would suck. Well, good night."

"'Night," said Axel, getting into bed. _"Well, today was pretty interesting. I just hope Koxra's not as stupid the next time I go on a mission with her. Wasn't she thinking? She better not keep something like that to herself again. It just complicates things and I don't like complications."_

* * *

_"And here I thought I had Axel figured out," _Koxra thought as she eased her sore body into bed. She was first caught off-guard when he had come close to exploding at her for not telling him about her fear of tornados. She could understand that he would be angry at her for creating a complication and expected that. What she didn't expect was the hint of concern that she detected.

There was also when he didn't tell Xemnas every detail about why they were late. She had originally bought the explanation, but now, she wasn't as sure. _"Hold on. Could he be warming up to me a little? I doubt he'd tell me if I asked."_

* * *

Koxra slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. She shut them, but then thought of something and looked at the alarm clock again. Her eyes widened as she saw it was 8:00am. "Oh, crap! How could I have overslept an hour? Man, I hope Xemnas isn't too mad!"

She rolled off her bed and got tangled in the blankets in the process. Now getting angry, she wasted roughly ten minutes getting her legs untangled from the blankets. She realized how much time she wasted, and then went to grab a clean coat out of her closet and quickly put it on over her pajamas instead of changing into something else and then putting the coat on. She then dashed out the door without even stopping to comb her hair. Koxra rounded a corner, ran into something, and fell back about two feet.

"Ouch, what the—Axel?" Axel was getting up and dusting himself off.

"Man, why didn't my fortune cookie say to beware of girls with bed-head running into me? Why didn't you comb your hair?" Koxra got up.

"I don't have time for this. I'm already over an hour late! Xemnas'll have my head!" Axel blinked.

"Late? What are you talking about?" Koxra gave him a blank stare.

"Missions? What if I have one? What are you doing here anyway? Do you have off?" Axel chuckled.

"The whole Organization has off today. It's one of the few, and I stress 'few', times we all have vacation on a weekday." Koxra stared.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me! Why didn't anyone say something about this last night?"

"It was a last minute thing," said Axel. "It usually is last minute. So, basically, you can just go and do whatever you want." Koxra stared.

"What are you doing?"

"_I_ was heading to my room," Axel replied.

"What for," Koxra asked. "You just hang around the Castle on your days off?"

"A little thing called sleep," said Axel. "I wouldn't get up till noon if I had a choice." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"So you sleep whenever you get a day off?" Axel shrugged.

"Depends on whether or not I have something better to do."

"Seems like a waste of a day to me," said Koxra. Axel laughed.

"Heh, maybe to you it is. Anyway, I think you should get yourself sorted out before you scare someone." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha, comedian of the year, are you?" Axel smirked.

"Maybe I am."

* * *

"Ugh, would've been nice if I knew about the vacation day ahead of time," Koxra grumbled, combing through her hair. "I could've slept longer and wouldn't have had Axel making fun of my hair." She put her comb down and looked in the mirror. "Oh, that's just beautiful. I have bags under my eyes. Guess it's an early night for me." She thought for a minute. "I think I'll just get some breakfast and go kill as many Heartless as possible since they drop munny."

* * *

**Wow, this chapter sat on my computer for weeks before I finished it. **


	10. Ch9 The Strange Heartless

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Cyril, and Rioris.**

* * *

"Huh, where were you," Roxas asked as Koxra stepped out of a portal and into the Grey Area.

"We have vacation today," she said. "It doesn't really matter where I was. I came back, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Roxas. "I was just curious." Koxra sighed.

"If you must know, I was out killing Heartless and picking up munny. It's nice to be able to grab munny without having to worry about completing a mission." Roxas got off the couch.

"Yeah, but, you could do that on weekends too. It's weird that we get weekends off, but very few days through the week."

"Xemnas probably wants us to be as progressive as possible," said Koxra. "But even _he_ knows that we need breaks. He's not stupid. You overwork someone and they're likely to pass out and not get everything done and I'm sure Xemnas wouldn't be happy with half the Organization out of commission when he's trying to get enough hearts collected." Roxas thought.

"I wonder when Kingdom Hearts will finally be done. We've been getting closer for about a year now." Koxra sat down.  
"Maybe Xemnas is just saying that so no one asks questions. I've been wondering something. Does Xemnas even know _how_ Kingdom Hearts is supposed to give us hearts?" Roxas shrugged.

"If he does, he didn't tell anyone. Well, maybe he told Saix, but I doubt Saix would tell anyone."

"No, I wouldn't expect him to either," said Koxra. "Now, I'm gonna go get cleaned up before dinner."

"Okay," said Roxas. "See you then."

* * *

"Eight, you and Thirteen are exploring a new world today," said Saix. "It's called the Land of Dragons. Fourteen, you have off today. And, Nine, you and Fifteen are going out on heart collection in Hollow Bastion." He then headed off to give the other members their missions.

"Well, come get me for ice cream when you get back," Xion said as she left.

"C'mon, Koxra, let's get going," said Demyx. He opened a portal and walked through with Koxra following.

"See any Heartless?"

"I think some usually hang around at that castle over there," Demyx replied. "This is only my third time here. Why couldn't we go to Twilight Town instead? At least _there_ I know my way around."

"Well, let's go fight some Heartless so we can go home," said Koxra. "C'mon!" She summoned her silver pen and dashed toward the castle.

"Hey, wait up," Demyx yelled, running after her. "Man, she must really be in a hurry to get this done. Hold it; does she even know how many days this is supposed to take?" She stopped in front of the castle. "There don't seem to be any around here."

"I thought there usually_ were_ some around here," Koxra said. "At least, that's what you said." Demyx thought.

"Well, they usually _do _gather here. Maybe they're just hiding." Koxra stared.

"Why would the Heartless be hiding from us?"

"We _do_ kill them," Demyx pointed out. "Maybe they're getting wise to us." Koxra laughed.

"I didn't know Heartless were supposed to be that smart. Oh, hey, how long do we have to do this mission anyhow?" Demyx sighed.

"_Now_ you ask for a time limit. I thought you'd want to know that before we left." Koxra scratched her head and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, it kinda slipped my mind." Demyx shook his head.

"And I thought _I_ was supposed to be the absentminded one." Koxra blinked in irritation.

"Alright, I get the point. So, how long do we have?"

"Actually, it says on the report that we have about two or three days to do this. The Superior would probably like it done in two, if I had to guess, though." Koxra sighed.

"Well, it's not like we can do that if we can't find the Heartless, so I suggest we look somewhere else." She banished her pen. Demyx blinked.

"Why'd you summon it in the first place if you didn't see any Heartless nearby? I mean, what if someone saw you running down the street holding an oversized pen?" Koxra laughed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I guess I left my brain at home this morning."

* * *

"Ah, look, Rioris," said Cyril. "Your little friends are over there." Rioris rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha. Very amusing. I've seen the girl before, but not the other one with the strange hairstyle. The girl seems different from when I last saw her."

"How so," asked Cyril.

"She appears more confident with her fighting skills," Rioris replied. "Hmm, what do you say we test your Balloons?" Cyril grinned maliciously.

"I just love the way you think."

* * *

"Whew," Koxra said, wiping sweat off her forehead and banishing her pen. "So, how many Heartless did we kill?" Demyx banished his sitar.

"No clue." Koxra blinked.

"You mean you weren't keeping count? You're technically in charge of me and the mission, so why didn't you keep track?" Demyx waved his hands.

"Whoa, wait a minute. I'm not good in positions of authority. I'm not good with math either. Besides, I didn't see _you_ counting." Koxra shook her head.

"You're _far_ from being responsible, aren't you?" Demyx shrugged.

"Hey, what can you do? Oh, wait, I forgot about the info on this paper." Koxra face-palmed.

"Seriously? How could you forget it was in your pocket?" Demyx laughed nervously.

"Sorry. Just slipped my mind, I guess." He retrieved the paper in question as Koxra rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Okay, according to this, we're supposed to kill about five hundred of them or kill until we gather three hundred hearts."

"So, which is it? I'm confused here," said Koxra. Demyx sighed.

"Well, if we kill Emblem Heartless, we'll get done quicker, so try and stay away from the Purebloods unless we can't avoid fighting them."

"Oh, duh," said Koxra. "Hold on, have we been here a whole day already?" Demyx shrugged.

"I guess. Maybe that's why I'm so tired. Alright, we gotta find a place to spend the night." Koxra thought.

"A hotel?"

"Don't know if there _are_ any," said Demyx. "This is only my third time here and I never had to do any overnight missions here. If we _do_ find a hotel to stay at, we have to come up with a cover or something."

"Say we're cousins," said Koxra.

"We don't look anything alike," said Demyx.

"Got any better ideas," Koxra asked. "Besides, my real cousins look nothing like me."

"I guess I don't have any other ideas, so we'll have to go with that," said Demyx.

* * *

"Curses," Cyril said, watching the Nobodies enter a hotel. "We took too much time."

"Why not just send out the Balloons now," asked Rioris.

"Because, my dear, we don't want massive panic," Cyril replied. "The Balloons fight by instinct and therefore can't distinguish a target from other living life forms. In order for them to go after those two and _only_ them, they have to be the only attackable life forms in the area." Rioris smirked.

"And I thought you wanted to study them to see if they really have no hearts. How can you do that if your pets kill them?"

"You didn't seem to have an issue with that when you suggested that I let my new creations attack them. Besides, there are more of them than just those two, so it won't matter if the Balloons kill them," Cyril explained. "If I can't study them, I'll just get hold of some of the others. This is just a test run for my 'pets', as you call them."

"As long as you know what you're doing," said Rioris.

* * *

"Ugh, I'm so tired," Koxra groaned as she fell face-first onto the bed. Demyx opened the bathroom door.

"Are you sure you don't want to shower before you go to sleep?" Koxra lifted her head up.

"You go first since you're over there. If I'm asleep by the time you're done, wake me up. I hate sleeping without bathing."

"Alright," said Demyx as he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. _"If it were up to me, I'd just let her keep sleeping, but then she'd get mad that I didn't wake her up. This mission won't be very pleasant if she's grouchy and snapping at me most of the day tomorrow."_

* * *

"Hi, guys," said Xion as Axel and Roxas stepped out of a portal. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," said Roxas. "That world is way too cold, though." Axel closed the portal.

"Oh, stop complaining already. I wasn't having a problem."

"That's because of your higher body temperature," Roxas pointed out. "It takes a lot to get you cold." Axel shrugged.

"Well, usually water does it, so good thing I didn't fall in any lakes, huh? Oh, when's Demyx supposed to be back?"

"Tomorrow at the earliest and the following day at the latest," Xion replied. "Koxra'll probably push for tomorrow to make up for being late last time. I don't know if she'll get Demyx to go along with working harder, though." Axel chuckled.

"She can just do what everyone else does when they're on a mission with Demyx and want to get done fast."

"And what is that," asked Xion.

"They just remind him that the harder they work, the faster they get done, and the sooner they can RTC. He falls for it every time." Roxas collapsed onto the couch.

"You'd think he would catch on."

"Yeah, you'd think that," said Axel. Xion studied Roxas.

"Are you okay? You look pale."

"I'm just tired," said Roxas. "I should be fine after some sleep. Are you ready to go for ice cream?"

"Hey, hold it, partner," Axel cut in. "Did you forget about Xemnas?" Roxas face-palmed.

"Oh crap. Well, give me a minute to get up."

* * *

"Hey, Koxra, the shower's free," Demyx announced. He looked over at the bed and saw her asleep. He sighed and headed over there to attempt to rouse her. He gently shook her. "Koxra, I'm done in the shower. Hey, wake up." He was answered by a moan as the Mind Mage opened her eyes.

"Hey, Demyx. What's going on?"

"I just thought you'd like to know that I'm finished in the bathroom," Demyx replied. Koxra sat up and yawned.

"Oh, right. Well, see ya when I'm done." She went into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Well, that's nice," said Demyx. "There's a TV in here. Wonder if anything good's on."

* * *

"Man, I'm beat," said Koxra. "That shower just makes me want to go to sleep even more. Well, at least I'm clean this time." She opened the door and left the bathroom. "Demyx?"

"Oh, you're done?"

"Yeah. I didn't know this place had a TV."

"You didn't see it when we walked in?"

"Well, I was just mostly focusing on the bed. What are you watching?"

"Dunno. It's in Spanish." Koxra blinked.

"Why are you watching it, then?" Demyx shrugged.

"There's nothing else on." Koxra rolled her eyes and wondered why anyone would bother watching something in a language they didn't understand. From what she saw on the screen, what Demyx was watching didn't even have subtitles so he'd know what was going on.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to just turn the TV off, then? Unless you somehow learned Spanish in the past ten minutes while I was in the shower."

"I don't really have any better ideas," said Demyx.

"You could go to sleep," Koxra suggested. Demyx looked at the clock.

"It's only 8:00pm. I haven't gone to sleep this early since I was five!" Koxra sat on the bed.

"Suit yourself. I, however, don't give a crap what time it is. I'm tired and I'm going to sleep. So, good night." She lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

_"Jeez, she wasn't kidding," _Demyx thought. _"She didn't even wait for a response from me."_

* * *

"Agh, dammit, Saix," Axel snapped as he fumbled to get his mission info out of his breakfast. "Why didn't you make sure I had a hold on it?" The Luna Diviner gave him a blank stare.

"I assumed you already had a good enough hold on it. You'd best hope that the contents of the folder are not contaminated by your breakfast or you will have to explain to the Superior that you couldn't hold onto precious mission information properly. And, Thirteen, you have no missions today. Also, I highly suggest you use this time to pay Four a visit." Roxas blinked.

"Huh? Why?"

"Look in the mirror and the answer should be obvious," Saix replied as he went to finish handing out missions.

"I don't get it," said Roxas. Axel looked up as he finished brushing eggs off the folder, praying that nothing happened to the contents.

"Are you really that dense? You're so pale. You have to be sick."

"What? No, I feel fine," said Roxas. Axel gave him a stern look.

"Go see Vexen. That's an order, not a request."

"But, I—"

"Either go to Vexen or I'll drag you there." Roxas bowed his head.

"Alright. I'll go." He disappeared into a portal.

"That was nicely done," said Xion. Axel shrugged.

"Sometimes he needs a stern talking-to."

* * *

There were creatures floating around that looked like huge, purple balloons. They had eight tentacles which had sharp, sword-like ends. Some Neoshadows were among them. "What are these things supposed to be," asked Koxra.

"They're probably some new kind of Heartless," said Demyx. "Be careful around them."

"Right," Koxra said, charging into battle and taking out Neoshadows with her pen.

"Dance, water, dance!" Demyx cried, strumming his sitar. About ten water-clones appeared to fight alongside him. He vanquished Heartless with huge bursts of water while his water-clones formed a defensive circle around him.

The strange balloon-Heartless seemed to enjoy unleashing spinning attacks, causing Koxra to roll under their twirling tentacles in order to strike them at the base and defeat them. Demyx had left most of the Neoshadows to his water-clones and took to jumping and bashing the balloon-Heartless with his sitar. He took out ten of the balloon-Heartless with this method.

"Is it just me, or are these things tough," said Koxra as she took out what seemed like the fifteenth Heartless.

"Some Heartless are tougher than others."

"I meant tougher than the other Heartless we found around here."

"Right, I knew that." He dodged a Neoshadow and moved to strike back. "How many are there?"

"I don't know," Koxra replied as she dodged a tentacle. "It's like they keep coming!"

"There has to be an end to them somewhere," said Demyx as he summoned more water-clones when he saw they had all been defeated.

"Let's just hope we don't tire out before we find the end to them," said Koxra.

* * *

"Xion, what are you doing here," asked Roxas. Xion closed the door behind her.

"I just thought I'd see how you were doing. I got done early. So, did Vexen figure out what's wrong with you?"

"He said it's just a fever and some dizziness," Roxas replied. "I should be fine in a day or so. I have no idea how I got it, though."

"Maybe there was something going around in that world you visited yesterday," Xion suggested. Roxas thought.

"Why didn't Axel get sick, then?" Xion shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He doesn't really get sick that much."

"What about last year when he had the flu, then," asked Roxas. Xion sighed.

"I didn't say he _never_ got sick. I just said he doesn't get sick _much_. There's a difference." Roxas looked around the room.

"Where _is_ Axel anyway?"

"Probably still on his mission," Xion replied. "Like I said, I got done early." Axel stepped out of a portal.

"I can't believe you beat me." He closed the portal behind him. Roxas stared.

"You're supposed to knock before coming in."

"Well, I'm already in here," Axel pointed out. "So, how are you holding up?" Roxas blinked.

"You're acting like it's serious. It's just a fever and some dizziness. Vexen told me to take it easy for a couple days. He wants to make sure my fever doesn't get too high."

"Nice to know it's nothing serious," said Axel. "Demyx still isn't back from his mission with Koxra, huh?"

"Xion pretty much said that they should take three days at the most," said Roxas.

"Maybe you should live by your own catchphrase and 'get it memorized'."

"Really funny, Roxas," Axel retorted. "Well, Demyx _did_ get paired with Koxra. Maybe they had to stop a lot." Xion glared.

"For your information, she doesn't need long rests that often anymore." Axel laughed.

"Hey, it was a joke. Should've known you'd be sticking up for her since you're her mentor."

"That wasn't very funny, you know," said Xion.

"Xion, Axel's warming up to her too," said Roxas. Axel leaned against the wall.

"Well, I don't exactly hate going on missions with her, if that's what you mean. She's gotten better since the first time we went on one together. She barely killed forty Heartless before she got tired."

"She had the rookie excuse," said Roxas. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"The 'rookie excuse', Roxas? That's a strange thing to call it."

"But it's accurate," Xion pointed out.

* * *

"Get this stupid thing off of me," Koxra yelled. She was trapped in one of the creature's tentacles. She was continuously hitting the creature with her pen and struggling to get loose. Demyx noticed.

"I'll be there in a minute." Koxra grunted.

"Don't bother. I'm doing fine!"

"Who is she fooling," Demyx asked himself as he destroyed the last of the Heartless around him. "Why don't you just shoot some magic or something?"

"I don't know any," Koxra snapped as she continued hacking at the tentacle that held her. Demyx was dumbstruck.

"Hold on! That doesn't make any sense!"

"How about we save this for after the battle?"

"Oh, right." Koxra continued her struggling even though it was clear that she wouldn't be able to escape on her own. The fact that she wasn't having any luck only got her angry. Though she didn't show it, she was also becoming scared.

"Hang on," Demyx yelled as he sent water at the Heartless.

"I told you I'm handling it," Koxra snapped.

"Doesn't look that way from here," Demyx said as he swung his sitar at one of its tentacles. The Heartless was caught off-guard and dropped Koxra who promptly took advantage of the situation and struck a finishing blow with her pen. She then fell and landed on a geyser Demyx had created. She was lowered to the ground. "You okay?" Koxra sat up.

"What part of 'I'm handling it' didn't you get," she blurted out before she could stop herself. Demyx stared.

"Well excuse me. Maybe I should just let you get squished by it next time." Koxra sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like not being able to do something on my own."

"Now that's better," said Demyx. "You shouldn't get so mad when someone _does_ help you, though." Koxra thought.

"I don't always get mad. Most times I do, but not all the time. _Like when Axel got me away from that tornado. I was overly-terrified, so that's probably why I didn't get mad at him. I was just so happy to be away from that thing._ I should be thanking you instead of getting mad. Thanks, Demyx."

"You're welcome," said Demyx. "Hey, at least you calmed down now. Hold it, you're bleeding."

"Huh," Koxra asked as she looked at herself. She saw gashes on her arms and chest which were bleeding out from rips in her coat. "Oh, I guess I am. They don't hurt that much, so they can't be serious. You're bleeding too, I hope you know." Demyx looked down and saw gashes all over the front of his body.

"Well, they can't be too bad if I'm just now noticing them. Strangely enough, I was actually counting hearts this time and we got plenty since those strange Heartless were Emblem Heartless."

"Does that mean we can head back now," asked Koxra. Demyx opened a portal.

"Don't see why not."

* * *

"Cyril, I thought you said the Balloons would do the trick," Rioris snapped.

"I don't believe I said that, Rioris," Cyril replied. "I said that this was a test run. Since they passed, I can come to the conclusion that these 'Nobodies' are truly formidable opponents and shouldn't be underestimated."

"It doesn't matter," said Rioris. "They won't be able to escape for long."

* * *

"Huh," Axel said as he looked up after hearing a portal open. "Oh, you guys are back."

"Thanks so much for that greeting," said Koxra. Axel smirked.

"Was she a pain in the ass, Demyx?" Koxra glared.

"When am I a pain in the ass?"

"About twenty-four hours a day," Axel replied.

"I can't believe you just said that," Koxra snapped. "That's not the least bit funny!" Demyx put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, settle down already. We need to go see Xemnas." Axel stared at them.

"You two don't look good. Are you sure you don't want to rest a little first?"

"We're fine," said Demyx. "We can rest later. There's something we really need to tell Xemnas." Koxra staggered toward the door.

"Yeah. Besides, didn't you tell me before that Xemnas comes first?" She fell into the wall by the doorway. "Okay, maybe a short breather."

"I think it'll be a longer breather than you thought," said Demyx. "We can get going when you're ready."

"What happened to you guys anyhow," asked Axel. Koxra sat on the floor and rubbed her forehead.

"Plain and simple. We got pretty much ambushed. It's a good thing that they didn't continue coming. _Well, that and I probably couldn't have handled any more Heartless because I was getting really tired. I'm not about to tell either of them that, though._"

* * *

"What did these mysterious Heartless _look_ like, Fifteen," asked Xemnas.

"They looked like giant purple balloons," said Koxra. "They had about eight tentacles which had some sort of sword tips on the ends."

"Very well," said Xemnas. "Nine, do you have anything to add?"

"No, Superior," said Demyx.

"Three and Five will be sent to investigate when I can spare them, then," said Xemnas. "You are dismissed." They left.

"Well, if it isn't Princess and Tidal-wave." They looked up and spotted the Freeshooter on the ceiling.

"Oh, hey, Xiggy," said Demyx.

"What are you doing, Xigbar," asked Koxra. "Were you spying on us?"

"Not really," said Xigbar, jumping off of the ceiling and landing on the floor. "Just happened to be on my way to Xemnas's office. You two are a mess."

"Yeah," said Demyx. "Axel said that too."

"We better go rest up," Koxra said. She walked forward a couple steps and swayed.

"You okay, Princess," asked Xigbar.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Koxra said. She then started falling forward and Demyx grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Really? Because it doesn't look like it." Koxra blinked.

"Wait a minute. You were fighting roughly the same amount as me, so how come you're still standing?"

"Ah, but remember that I wasn't the one who got grabbed," Demyx pointed out. "With the fight you were putting up there, I'm not surprised that you're more exhausted." Koxra jerked her arm free.

"And I'll thank you not to bring it up anymore!" She began staggering down the hall. Xigbar face-palmed and opened a portal.

"Don't be stupid. Take the portal to your room before you collapse in the middle of the hallway." Koxra sighed.

"Fine, I'm going." She disappeared into the portal.

"What was that about anyway," asked Xigbar.

"She had a moment of weakness and doesn't want anyone finding out about it," Demyx replied. "In a nutshell, that's what it is."

"She doesn't strike me as the type to take that sort of thing well," said Xigbar. "I'd say it's a pride thing."

"Maybe it is," said Demyx. "What are you doing here anyhow if you weren't spying on us?"

"A mission," said Xigbar. "Why else would I be on my way to see the Superior? Well, see ya, dude."

"Have fun with that mission, Xiggy," said Demyx.

The Freeshooter chuckled as he walked through Xemnas's door Xemnas looked up.

"Two, don't you even have the common courtesy to _open_ the door before entering?" Xigbar leaned against the wall.

"Hey, I'm lazy and why should I open it when walking through it is so much more fun?" Xemnas rolled his eyes.

"I fail to see the 'fun', as you put it, in passing through objects, but I did not call you here to discuss your element. Your mission is in the Land of Dragons." Xigbar blinked.

"Hold on, didn't you just _recently_ learn about that place?" Xemnas glared.

"If you would cease interrupting, perhaps you would actually learn something." Xigbar scratched his head.

"Oh, sorry." Xemnas sighed.

"As I was saying, your mission there is to retrieve these certain stones. You will be able to tell when you find them because they will have arrows in the center. I know little else about the description, but Four should be able to figure out what they do. You are to deliver them to him upon your return." Xigbar raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, but isn't one week a bit too long to do this?"

"That will depend on the amount of time you spend on it," Xemnas replied. "I decided to allow a week since this is basically a newly discovered world and the possibility of getting lost is greater. Now, if you would, send Three and Five here before departing."

"Sure thing," said Xigbar.

"You summoned us, Superior," Xaldin asked as he walked in with Lexaeus behind him. Xemnas looked up.

"Yes. Nine and Fifteen have informed me that they encountered a new type of Heartless in Hollow Bastion on their mission. They have eight tentacles each with sword-like tips on the ends and resemble giant, purple balloons. These are Fifteen's words, not mine. What is it, Five?" Lexaeus looked up.

"I was just wondering what sort of Heartless would look like balloons." Xemnas sighed.

"As you know, I wouldn't say Fifteen is adept at descriptions, so they may look completely different from what she said."

"How long is this mission supposed to take," asked Xaldin.

"Maybe a day or so," Xemnas replied. He studied the Whirlwind Lancer. "Rest assured, Three, the rest of us are not completely incapable of preparing our own meals for that long. If we _were_, you'd never have the opportunity to leave the Castle." Xaldin blinked.

"I guess it would be rather naïve of me to assume that I'm the only competent cook."

"We'd be in serious trouble if you _were_ the only cook available," Lexaeus pointed out. "For when you get sent on missions, the rest of us are at least competent enough to make something that's instant or microwavable." Xemnas cleared his throat.

"Three gets the point now. I suggest you two go to Hollow Bastion and begin investigating."

* * *

**Whoa, I'd say this chapter kicks its previous version's ass! Eleven pages! I can't believe it ended up being this long of a chapter! For those of you who read the original version of this story, some of this content was originally in chapter two. Even so, I changed what happened quite a bit. It's probably kind of better that I managed to put off including most of the original content for about 8 chapters. Well, 9 if you count the prologue.**

**I think I'm having more fun writing this since I'm taking my time covering what happened before, during, and after Koxra joined. Truth be told, I like this version much better than the original.**


	11. Ch10 Wonderland

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra and the Witches of the Circle and all those affiliated with them.**

* * *

"Ugh," Koxra groaned as she slammed a fist on her beeping alarm clock to silence it. "That's weird. I don't remember going to bed last night. Jeez, I must've been more exhausted than I thought._ I should probably go apologize to Demyx. He was only trying to help me and I shouldn't have snapped at him. _Alright, I highly doubt I showered, so I better go do that." When she was done, she portaled to the kitchen.

"Well, look who's up. Heard you bit Demyx's head off last night."

"Good morning to you too, Axel," said Koxra. "Where's Demyx?"

"Ah, so you _do_ feel bad," said Axel. "Amazing that you didn't apologize before you went to bed last night." Koxra sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a horrible person. I know I can be an absolute bitch when I'm tired or in a bad mood, so you don't have to remind me."

"Oh, come on," Axel complained. "It's no fun when you agree with me." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Do you know where Demyx is or not?"

"Still in his room, I think," Axel replied. "He usually takes longer than me, so you might be able to catch him." Koxra opened a portal.

"Okay, thanks."

* * *

"Wonder who that is," said Demyx. He opened the door. "Koxra?"

"Why do you look so shocked to see me," asked Koxra.

"I thought you'd already be at breakfast," Demyx replied. "Why are you here?"

"Look, I'm sorry," said Koxra. "I was acting like a real jerk last night. I didn't mean to 'bite your head off', as Axel put it."

"Well, I probably shouldn't have brought that up in the first place," said Demyx. "Xiggy thinks it hurt your pride."

"Yeah, it did," said Koxra. "I really wish I didn't explode like that. Two times in one day? It usually doesn't happen that frequently and there's no excuse for it."

"Maybe you should try talking to someone instead of exploding from keeping too much bottled up," Demyx suggested. Koxra thought.

"Like a psychiatrist?"

"It doesn't have to be a psychiatrist," said Demyx. "I don't think you have a problem big enough for one of them."

"In the past, going off somewhere and thinking has worked," said Koxra.

"Well, try that again, then," said Demyx. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something."

"Like what," asked Koxra.

"Yesterday, you said that you didn't know magic," Demyx began. "I thought that was weird since everyone learns it at the start of their training. Why don't you know any?" Koxra bowed her head.

"The truth is that Xion tried to teach me. I was just so terrible at it that I never got beyond learning a basic fire spell and even that spell isn't very good. Makes me terrible at ranged combat."

"That could put you at a disadvantage with fighting," said Demyx.

"Yeah, I realize that," said Koxra. "That's why I try to avoid ranged combat as much as possible."

* * *

"Man, some ranged attacks would've been a big help." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Roxas, how was I supposed to know that we'd be fighting something as dangerous as a Zip Slasher?" Roxas sighed.

"I'm just saying that you might not have that gash on your arm now if you'd kept your distance a bit. You're lucky you weren't hurt worse."

"I've done fine without magic," Koxra pointed out. "Everyone has something they're not good at. Let's just give the report so I can clean this gash."

"Alright," said Roxas. "But shouldn't you clean that first? It's bleeding a lot." Koxra looked at her arm and saw the long gash oozing blood down it.

"Well, maybe." She put a hand to her forehead. "Ugh, so dizzy."

"Alright, that really needs taken care of before we go to see Xemnas if you're having balance issues," said Roxas. "I think Vexen should take a look at it." Koxra eased herself to the floor.

"No, don't do that. Go in my bathroom and get my first aid kit out of the medicine cabinet. I can handle this myself."

"Fine, if you want to be difficult," said Roxas. "Only, how about I just take you to your bathroom so you can wash it off? That way, you'll at least be in a somewhat sterile area." Koxra realized she wouldn't be able to get him to let her doctor herself up, so she decided to just give in.

"Alright. I can see arguing won't get me anywhere. Open the portal."

* * *

"Xion, have you seen Roxas anywhere," asked Axel.

"Don't think so," Xion replied. "Maybe he got held up during his mission."

"Okay, next question: do you have any idea why there are drops of blood on the floor over here," said Axel. Xion's eyes widened.

"Huh? Why would blood be on the floor? Does that mean someone's hurt?" Axel bent down to examine the blood.

"It's not that much, so I wouldn't worry about it. It's only a little puddle, so whoever it came from can't be hurt that bad."

"But, what if Roxas was hurt and that's why I haven't seen him," asked Xion. Axel stood up.

"Okay, if Roxas was hurt bad enough to go to Vexen, there would be more than a little puddle of blood here. You don't even know who the blood came from, so don't jump to conclusions."

"What are you guys talking about?" They saw Koxra standing in the doorway.

"There, you see, Xion," said Axel. "Koxra and Roxas were working on the same mission today." Koxra crossed her arms.

"Your point?"

"Do you know anything about that blood over there," asked Xion.

"Oh, that," said Koxra. "I just got a gash on my arm and had to rest for a while. I guess some blood dripped to the floor and I didn't notice it. What's with the weird looks?" Axel chuckled.

"See, Xion. I told you it wasn't anything to be worried about. It can't be that bad if you didn't go and see Vexen, now, can it?"

"Roxas thought I should've, but I didn't think it would be a good idea to take up Vexen's time unless it's an emergency," Koxra explained. "I still couldn't talk Roxas into letting me wrap it myself, though."

"What exactly happened," asked Xion. Koxra sat down on the couch.

"Well, we ran into a Zip Slasher during our mission and you know about my magic problem. I had to mainly move in to fight it close range." Axel thought.

"And I thought you modified your fighting style so you wouldn't have to use magic." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"I'm still working out the kinks, okay?" Axel waved his hand.

"Whatever you say."

"As I was saying," Koxra continued, her eyes still on the Flurry. "I was doing fine until the blades were getting a little too close for comfort, so I did a quick back-step. Unfortunately, I didn't step back quite far enough and saw the blade coming for me, so I put up my arm to defend myself and, well, you should be able to figure out the rest."

"At least you didn't get hurt worse," said Xion. "How does it feel?" Koxra looked at her arm.

"Still stings a little, but it should heal up pretty fast. I'm not a medical expert, so I don't know _how_ fast, but, as long as it doesn't look infected, I'm not gonna worry about it."

"Yeah, I don't think Vexen would appreciate being bugged for something minor," said Axel.

* * *

"Ugh," Axel groaned.

"What's got _you _so miserable," asked Koxra.

"You and me are going to Wonderland for three days," said Axel.

"Gee, nice to know you like me so much," said Koxra. Axel face-palmed.

"It has nothing to do with being paired with you. It's that world that I hate! Why can't Xemnas send Marly and Luxord? They _love_ plants and cards."

"I see what you mean," said Koxra. "Every time I go there, I feel like I'm high on drugs. What're we doing there?"

"Apparently, Vexen wants some samples of all the plants," said Axel. "Wants to see if any are medicinal. And I guess the ones that aren't will go to Marluxia." Koxra blinked.

"He doesn't want us to catalogue all the plants, does he?"

"No," said Axel. "Vexen and Marluxia are probably the only two who would know enough about the plants to know what type they are, what they do, the names of them, I could go on and on. Point is, they wouldn't assign us something that complex to do. I have no clue why they're sending the two of us since we're far from being plant experts." Koxra shrugged.

"Maybe we're the only two who are free. So, how is Vexen gonna know what types of plants we bring back and how much of them if we don't catalogue them?" Axel shrugged.

"Guess he'll just identify them when we bring them back. Makes more sense for _him_ to do it anyway."

"Would've made more sense to send him, then," Koxra pointed out. "But, I guess Xemnas thinks he's more useful here."

"Since he is one of the few with any medical knowledge, I'd say that's a fair assumption, Fifteen."

"And here I thought eavesdropping was Xigbar's specialty. Or are you just passing by, Zexion," said Koxra.

"It's not surprising that I overheard you since you were having a discussion at the kitchen table," Zexion pointed out. "And shouldn't you and Axel be leaving sometime in the near future?" Koxra groaned.

"Excuse me for not wanting to get sick by wolfing down my food. I thought keeping us on task was Saix's job."

"Sometimes more than one person is needed for the job, though, and Seven is preoccupied," said Zexion. "And I have little tolerance for procrastination." Axel sighed.

"Alright, we'll get out of here soon enough." He turned to Koxra. "You done yet?"

"Yeah," she said. "Shouldn't we take something to carry these plant samples in?" Axel opened a portal.

"I'll be back with that. Just worry about getting ready. Meet me in the Grey Area."

* * *

Koxra stood in the Grey Area with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. She had no idea what was taking Axel so long to show up. She wanted to go on the mission and get back as soon as possible since she held an immense dislike for the world they were about to visit. Her patience was wearing thinner with each passing second.

_"What could he possibly be doing? I thought he only had to go and get something to store the plant samples in. I've been standing around for a half hour!"_

"Merry Christmas!" Koxra turned and caught a sack Axel had thrown at her. She stared with her eyes in slits.

"It's not Christmas." But, Axel was unfazed.

"Happy birthday, then."

"My birthday's not till March."

"Alright, there's obviously no pleasing you." Koxra rolled her eyes before looking in the bag and extracting some zip-lock bags.

"What are these for, smart guy?" Axel chuckled.

"To collect the plants, obviously. The bigger bag is to store all of the samples and the smaller bags are so samples don't get mixed up with each other."

"Because Vexen would throw a fit if the samples got mixed up?"

"Duh. Who in their right mind _wouldn't_? Now, let's get going. We're already behind schedule." Koxra crossed her arms.

"Well, that's not my fault."

"Hey, it took a while to find those bags and then I had to check with Vexen who didn't want to be bothered until he finished his experiment or failed and blew something up again. I was honestly hoping for another explosion."

"And why would I expect anything less out of you?" Axel opened a portal.

"Let's just get going."

* * *

"_Me_," Luna asked in shock. "You think I'd be useful in eliminating them?"

"That's not what I said, foolish girl," Cria snapped. "Since you are the only one with no draining abilities, you are best used in reconnaissance. We've received reports that some of those Nobodies have been spotted in Wonderland."

"And who gave that report," asked Luna.

"Kayla," Cria replied. Luna thought.

"If she's already there, why do _I_ have to head there?" Cria glared.

"If you ever want to see your brother again, you'll do as I say!" Luna bowed her head.

"Yes, ma'am. _If only I knew where they had him._"

* * *

"Well, better go shrink ourselves and go through that stupid hole," said Axel as he stepped out of the portal with Koxra. Koxra groaned.

"Why do we have to shrink ourselves anyhow?" Axel shrugged.

"Got me. This is one seriously messed up world. It seems to have its own rules."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if whoever created this world was on drugs," said Koxra. "Let's get this over with as fast as possible." Axel headed toward a pink table with two small bottles on it.

"Well _that's_ the perfect attitude to start a mission with."

"Hey, last time I checked, you didn't like this world either," Koxra pointed out. Axel picked up the bottle which contained the shrinking formula.

"True, but we should still take it seriously. It _is_ a mission after all." He drank the formula.

"So, Vexen just wants a bit of every plant, right," Koxra asked as she showed up beside him moments later after drinking the formula herself.

"Yeah," said Axel. "Let's just get started."

"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground," said Koxra.

"I dunno," said Axel.

"The faster we get done, the sooner we can leave," said Koxra.

"Let's meet back here at the end of the day, then," Axel said as he headed toward one of the paths. "Be careful."

"You too," said Koxra. _"Definitely wasn't expecting him to say that. I'll ponder that later. I've got plants to collect."_ She headed down the other path.

* * *

"You took your sweet time, girl," said Kayla. "Were you lost in a book again?"

"For your information, Kayla, Cyril's machine needed repairs, so I had to wait," said Luna. "I can't just teleport to a random place I've been like you can. I probably would've been here quicker if someone would've teleported me here." Kayla glared daggers at her.

"Do you honestly expect anyone to waste their abilities on the likes of _you_? You'd best remember the position you're in. I have no idea why we even continue to keep you around since you can't teleport or drain life forces."

"Cyril can't teleport or drain life forces either," Luna pointed out. Kayla smirked.

"His intelligence is far above normal, so I believe those flaws can be excused. You, however, never do much of anything. But look at me, standing here and debating what you're good for. We should be performing reconnaissance."

"By all means, lead the way," said Luna. Kayla chuckled.

"We will be splitting up and reporting back here later. Think you can handle whatever is here on your own?" Luna glared.

"Just bring it on! I'm perfectly capable of handling anything this world throws at me."

"Good to know," said Kayla. "You go that way and see that you don't disappoint Cria."

"I won't," said Luna. Kayla watched her retreating figure.

_"I don't see why Cria doesn't get rid of her and her brother. They don't really serve much purpose. Maybe they have some sort of hidden power that Cria figured out but hasn't shared with the rest of us."_

* * *

**And, more of the Circle. I'm certainly having them do more in this rewrite. I hope that makes things more exciting.**


	12. Ch11 Crimson and Circle

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra and anyone in or affiliated with the Witches of the Circle.**

* * *

"Man, I'll probably be dreaming about plants tonight," Koxra grumbled as she took a leaf off a plant and sealed it in a zip-lock bag. "I hope I don't end up touching anything like that one that paralyzed me for a bit. That was no picnic."

* * *

_"Okay, I think I have about two hundred samples so far," _Axel thought. _"It's starting to get pretty dark, so I should probably head back. I hope Koxra got at least the same amount."_

* * *

"Oh, that's great," Koxra groaned. "I just had to run into a Heartless now." She summoned her pen and sat the bag off to the side. "Guess I'll be late. Hope Axel doesn't get mad." She stared down the Heartless in front of her and watched it split into two identical Heartless. "Well, I was stupid if I thought this would be easy."

* * *

_"There are some really strange plants here," _Luna thought. _"I swear that flower just moved. Wait, why are some of these flowers so big anyhow? Right now, all the information I can figure out about this place is that it looks and feels like some sort of messed up jungle. Wait, I thought some of those Nobodies were supposed to be here. What am I supposed to do if I run into them?"_

"UGH, WOULD YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?" Luna stopped dead.

"What was that? I think it's coming from up ahead." She started running toward the yell.

* * *

_"Okay, they merged again, so now's my chance,"_ Koxra thought. "Take this!" She swung her pen and managed to deal the finishing blow. She fell to her knees and panted as it disintegrated. She tried to make her way over to the bag she had discarded before the fight to ensure that the contents were unharmed. After all, she had been going out of her way to lead the Heartless and the copy it made away from the bag of plant samples.

As she stood up, she was aware of the blood that had been oozing from the numerous wounds she had sustained. She clutched a gash across her stomach. _"Okay, have to try getting up." _She tried to stand up, but realized there was a significant amount of pain in her leg, so she just ended up collapsing. _"Let's see if I can crawl to that bag then. Wait, why don't I try to portal?"_ She tried to summon a portal, but couldn't put the pain out of her mind and ended up failing. _"It's no use. I guess I'll have to crawl to the bag, grab it, and crawl to where we're supposed to meet. I wonder if Axel's wondering where I am yet."_

* * *

_"She's taking her sweet time showing up here," _Axel thought as he was seated on a stump. _"Last I checked, being on time is one thing she's really good at. It's been dark for about two hours now."_ He sighed and got up. _"Better go see what's keeping her."_

* * *

Luna had traveled up the path for quite some time and had seen nothing. She couldn't even hear anything anymore and was wondering if perhaps she had imagined the yelling. No, that wasn't possible. Maybe she had taken the wrong direction and was actually heading away from the sounds? She also found that quite unlikely. The most logical conclusion is that she felt she had been walking for hours when it was only five minutes. Yes, that seemed logical. Her nerves were getting the best of her and now that she was aware of it, she wouldn't let them win.

_"This is a little crazy, actually. I have no idea what I'm looking for. It sounded like someone might have been in a fight, but what if they moved on already? Hold on, what's that up ahead?"_ She saw a black mass and ran toward it. She stopped right next to it. _"Wait, this is a person. Whoa, hold it! A black coat? She's a Nobody! She still appears to be breathing."_ Luna put a hand on the girl and was answered with a moan.

"Hey, it's okay. I won't hurt you."

"Doubt that," the girl mumbled. "Leave." Luna sighed.

"Look, I'd like to help. If you'll let me, that is."

"'M fine," the girl said, attempting to stand, only for gravity to take over on her weakened body. Luna caught her and attempted to lower her to the ground as best as she could.

"I see you're stubborn. I should probably be thankful that you don't have energy to fight me better than this. Please, just let me help." She was met with cerulean eyes giving her a half-hearted glare.

"Don't," the girl managed to say before passing out.

"Well, at least she won't be fighting me now," said Luna, who attempted to clean the girl's wounds with some water from the bottle she had. "Not full-proof, but I have to try something."

* * *

_"Hold it, what's going on up ahead," _Axel thought. He broke into a run. "Get away from her!" The girl who had knelt down near Koxra looked up.

"I swear I didn't hurt her! She was like this when I got here!" Axel skidded to a halt.

"Am I supposed to fall for that?"

"It's not a trick," the girl protested. "If I did this to her, then why would I be trying to clean her wounds?" Axel couldn't think of an answer for that.

_"Stop jumping to conclusions and check on her!"_ He knelt down next to Koxra. "Well, she's still breathing. That's a good sign." He turned to the other girl. "Look, maybe I did jump to conclusions too soon, but that doesn't mean you're in the clear."

"I wouldn't expect it to," said the girl. Axel examined Koxra.

_"All these wounds and she already passed out. I don't even know how long she's been out. I can't just stand around. I have to get her to Vexen._ I'll handle this."

"You know someone who can help," asked the girl.

"I said I'd handle it, didn't I," said Axel, gently picking up Koxra. "Now, I'll probably be back, so I suggest you get lost before I am." He walked back down the path and created a portal after he rounded the corner and was out of sight.

* * *

Luna decided to heed the warning from the red-haired stranger. The only reason he hadn't stayed long had to be because his friend needed help. She considered herself lucky that he didn't have time to think of much else.

_"Hold on a minute. He said to get lost before he gets back. That probably means that if I'm not gone, there will be trouble. In his own warped way, I'd swear he was thanking me."_

* * *

"Vexen, you in here," asked Axel, upon stepping out of the portal while carrying Koxra. The Chilly Academic stepped out of his lab.

"Where else would I possibly be? What happened to Fifteen?" Axel placed her on a bed.

"No idea. She was out when I found her."

"What happened to the plant samples," asked Vexen as he washed his hands. Axel blinked.

"Sorry, what?" Vexen stared at him.

"The plant samples she collected, Axel?" Axel thought for a minute.

"Oh, I guess I wasn't even thinking about that. Maybe they're near where I found her."

"You didn't think about that," Vexen said, approaching the bed Koxra was on. "You didn't think about the importance of the mission?" Axel stared.

"Well, excuse me for being distracted! What was I supposed to do? Should I have looked around for them while Koxra was bleeding on the forest floor? It wasn't a time to be thinking of plant samples!" Vexen shook his head.

"I suggest that, at the very least, you retrieve the samples and speak with the Superior." Axel opened a portal.

"Alright, I'm going."

* * *

"Hey, Vexen!"

"What is it, Two?" Xigbar walked toward him.

"Well, Xemnas was just wondering if you managed to take a look at those stones I brought back." Vexen sighed.

"Send the Superior my apologies. I have been preoccupied lately and haven't had a chance to look at them." Xigbar chuckled.

"Preoccupied doing what exactly?"

"I believe I'm entitled to some privacy, so that's none of your concern." Xigbar looked around the room and his eyes fell on a nearby bed.

"What's Princess doing in here?"

"I should think it obvious that she is receiving treatment," said Vexen.

"I figured that, but what happened to her," asked Xigbar.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Vexen replied. "Fifteen was unconscious when Axel brought her in and has apparently been so since he found her. She most likely passed out from blood loss. As I have treated her wounds, she could be awake within the hour."

"That's good," said Xigbar. "Where'd Flamesilocks head off to anyway?"

"To retrieve the plant samples he had forgotten in Wonderland and speak with the Superior about what should be done," said Vexen. "Since Fifteen is stable and the Superior obviously wants the abilities of those stones figured out, I ask you not to disturb me again unless it's an emergency."

"Alright, I'll go let Xemnas know you're getting right on it," said Xigbar.

* * *

"Hey, I think she's waking up." Koxra groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She ended up face-to-face with Xion and Roxas.

"Do you two have any idea how much you're creeping me out right now? Where am I anyhow?" They stepped back from the bed.

"You're in the medical ward," said Roxas. "Axel brought you in a couple hours ago and you didn't look that good." Koxra sat up a little too fast and clutched a wound on her stomach. "Take it easy."

"Speaking of Axel, where is he?"

"I heard he went back to Wonderland to pick up the samples he forgot and was supposed to report to Xemnas afterward to tell him what's going on," said Xion. Koxra blinked.

"How'd he forget the samples? That was the whole reason we were there!" Roxas shrugged.

"No idea. I haven't even seen him to ask him. All I know came secondhand from Vexen." Koxra sighed.

"Well, I guess I have to hope he comes around sometime in the near future so I can ask him. Do you think Xemnas'll have him finish the mission?"

"Knowing Xemnas, probably," said Xion. "I don't see him cancelling a mission when there's still _one_ of the people he sent on it able to finish it, so Axel will probably be back in about two days." Roxas thought.

"I was wondering, do you remember what happened?" Koxra rubbed her temples.

"I remember this Heartless that I've never seen before. I was heading back to the place where we had first entered Wonderland, and I ran into it. At first, it was just one, but then, it made a copy of itself and there were two of them running around. Every time I blocked one, the other got me from behind, so I decided to just focus on one and that worked for a while until they merged back together. I kept attacking until I realized that trying to beat them individually wasn't working."

"You have to beat them both at the same time," Roxas cut in.

"That's what I figured, but how'd you know that," said Koxra.

"I fought one before," Roxas replied. "It's called a Crimson Prankster. Those things aren't easy to fight. Well, they're much easier to fight if you use magic to block their attacks." Koxra stared.

"You know my magic skills are pretty mediocre at best. I can barely summon up a simple fire spell."

"Yeah, I know," said Roxas. "That's probably why you got hurt so bad trying to fight it. Close range combat doesn't work with every Heartless, you know." Koxra sighed.

"Not much else I can do, though. Probably a stupid question, but where's Vexen?"

"In his lab studying some stones," said Xion. "He said he doesn't want to be disturbed unless it's an emergency."

"Well, he's also not the most social guy I've ever known, so that explains it too," said Koxra. "How long have you two been here?"

"We only got back a half-hour ago," said Roxas. "We haven't been here that long." Koxra smiled.

"So, at least you weren't stuck watching my motionless body for too long."

"You're making jokes, so I guess you're feeling better," said Xion.

"I have a feeling that the less I move, the better I'll feel," said Koxra.

* * *

"Where have you been, Luna," asked Kayla. "You were supposed to return _before_ dark not _after_." Luna bowed her head.

"Sorry. I just lost track of time. Some of these plants can be really fascinating." Kayla glared.

"You were supposed to be performing recon and not doing an in-depth study of the plants! This isn't like one of your books. You need to do more than just study one thing. Rest assured, Cria will hear about this."

"I figured that," said Luna. _"I hope that girl's alright."_

* * *

"Hey, Vexen, here's the rest of the plant samples," said Axel, opening the door to Vexen's lab.

"Very well, just sit them on a clear space," said Vexen without looking up. Axel looked around.

"But every counter has something on it." Vexen groaned.

"Then sit them out in the medical ward! I don't have time for this right now!"

"Okay, whatever," said Axel, shutting the door. He sat the samples on a nearby counter. "Jeez, wonder what has him so stressed."

"Some stones Xigbar found. Xemnas wants to know what they do a.s.a.p." Axel turned his head and saw Koxra sitting up in bed.

"Didn't know you were awake." Koxra laughed.

"Vexen was making a lot of noise in there." Axel walked over to the bed.

"So, anything still hurt?" He received a blank stare.

"Was that a trick question? It's not like I can heal in five minutes." Axel scratched his head.

"Yeah, that came out wrong. I guess I should've asked if you hurt any less."

"As long as I limit movement, I feel pretty comfortable," said Koxra. "Still hurts, though." Axel sat down on a bed.

"So, what happened?" Koxra sighed.

"I knew that was coming. I got into a fight with a Heartless and it obviously kicked the crap out of me before I beat it. I said something earlier when Roxas and Xion were here. Roxas thinks it was a Crimson Prankster."

"That explains it," said Axel. "I didn't think _one_ Heartless could do that much damage, but it makes sense if it was _that_ type of Heartless since you couldn't use magic to block it." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for rubbing that in. I don't need to be told why I got so beat up."

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded," said Axel.

"Yeah, I know," said Koxra.

"Did Vexen say how long you have to stay in here," asked Axel. Koxra shrugged.

"He didn't tell me and I didn't ask. He's spent most of the time in the lab. Well, it's not like he has to be out here since I'm not losing more blood or screaming in agony." Axel's eyes widened.

"When were you screaming in agony?"

"I wasn't," said Koxra. "I was just using that as an example. So, how'd the mission go?"

"Let's just say that if I have to look at one more plant today, I will probably burn it on sight," said Axel. "So Flower McNature-Freak better keep his plants away from me if he wants them to live."

"It's not like he parades his plants around the Castle," said Koxra. "So, you'll have nothing to burn unless Demyx has a plant in his room or something. And, if he does, you shouldn't burn it."

"As far as I know, he doesn't have any plants," said Axel. "With all that staff paper sitting on his desk and bedside table, I don't know where he'd put a plant anyway."

"Speaking of plants, what's this I've been hearing about you forgetting some plant samples," asked Koxra. Axel crossed his arms.

"Would you rather I left you in the middle of that forest until I delivered the samples?"

"Sorry," said Koxra. "I guess I should've known there had to be a good reason for it."

"What, did you think I had a bad memory or something," asked Axel. Koxra could sense him starting to get angry and she honestly didn't blame him.

"I didn't know what to think. I didn't know all the details."

"Yeah, I'm sure Vexen conveniently left those out," said Axel. "He usually doesn't care about reasons or 'excuses' as he likes to think of them."

"So I've learned the hard way," said Koxra. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot something." Axel stared.

"What could you have possibly forgot?"

"Thank you for saving me," said Koxra.

"Just do me a favor for next time," said Axel. "Attempt to learn magic. Some Heartless are easier to fight if you use it. If that were a solo mission, you wouldn't be here right now."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Koxra. _"If only so I don't end up causing trouble for him when we're on a mission."_

* * *

**As people who read the original chapter this idea was in will already know, Koxra originally got jabbed by a plant and poisoned. I actually went to try and do research on different types of plants that are poisonous, but nearly all of the ones I found had to be ingested first. I decided to do away with that idea since it was impossible for me to find detailed ways to treat such poisonings and Koxra eating something when she is unsure of what it is would be highly unlikely. I then thought of spiders or snakes, but, again, I was unable to find very detailed ways to treat them and I also didn't think Wonderland would have poisonous species of either, given the fact that I looked up their habitats and wouldn't know what type of land to classify Wonderland as. **

**So, with all of my other options down the drain, I looked up some Heartless that would be hard to fight without magic and, seeing as a strategy for fighting a Crimson Prankster is using magic to block its attacks, I decided on using it. **

**About the phrase, 'half-hearted glare'. I put that in for lack of a better phrase and there was no pun intended.**


	13. Ch12 Recovery and Extra Mission

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra.**

* * *

"So, exactly how long am I off-duty," asked Koxra.

"One week," Vexen replied. "Possibly two, depending on how long it takes for you to heal. As of now, I'm sending you back to your room with a recommendation not to do anything strenuous." Koxra grunted as she stood.

"And by strenuous, you mean what exactly?" Vexen stared.

"I trust you can work that out for yourself, Fifteen."

"I guess I'll just assume that I don't train for one, and that I don't try and lift anything over twenty pounds, then."

"Thirty should be doable, but, yes to the rest," said Vexen.

_"I forgot he has no sense of humor," _Koxra thought. "Well, thanks. I guess I'll head out now until I need to come here again."

"Which had better not be immediately after going back on duty," said Vexen.

"If I could control that, I would," said Koxra. She portaled to her room. _"Wait a minute, did he just make a joke?"_

* * *

"Well, now that's done with," said Axel, shutting the door to Xemnas's office. "Think Roxas and Demyx are back?"

"We won't know until we start asking around," said Xion. "I'd like to see how Koxra's doing too."

"Oh, yeah," said Axel. "She said Vexen was thinking about letting her go back to her room today."

"Okay, that's the last time I let _you_ read the map."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault we got lost!"

"Technically, it was, Demyx. You held the map upside down."

"Why'd you give it to me, then?"

"Because I can't read maps, so I thought you might be able to."

"Well, I can't."

"You know, you could've told me that before I gave you the map and you got us lost."

"I already said I'd explain to Xemnas that I'm an idiot. I wanted to see if I _could_ read it or at least figure something out."

"Demyx, how about you save the tests of your map-reading skills for when you're _not_ on missions," Axel suggested. The bickering Nobodies looked at him, only just realizing that they were mere yards away from Xemnas's office. Demyx scratched his head.

"So, you heard us, huh?"

"Hard not to hear when you're coming right toward me," Axel replied. "Xemnas won't be very happy with you two." Demyx sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Might as well go talk to him and hope he's feeling lenient."

"Good luck," said Axel.

"We don't need luck," said Roxas. "We need a miracle."

* * *

"What are the two of you doing back so soon," Xemnas asked as Demyx and Roxas entered. "The mission I assigned you was to take three days." Demyx scratched his head.

"Well, we kinda ran into a problem, Superior." He took a deep breath as he told the story of their map complications. Xemnas sat there staring at them even after the Nocturne had finished speaking. His lack of reaction was making Roxas nervous.

"Um, Superior, is something wrong?"

"I'm amazed you don't have the common sense to work that out for yourself, Thirteen," Xemnas replied. "As for this map issue, why did you not inform me of it before you left the Castle?"

"I guess we weren't really thinking then," said Demyx. "But, next time we run into a problem like that, we'll come back right away and tell you instead of wasting time trying to figure things out and getting nowhere."

"Rest assured, there will be no repeat of this," said Xemnas. "Both of you will be taught how to read maps in the near future."

"Does that mean right now," asked Roxas.

"No," said Xemnas. "You will be taught as soon as you get back from this new mission I am assigning you. As this mission doesn't require the use of a map, it should be no problem for you. You are to leave immediately."

"You want us to leave right now," Demyx asked in shock. Xemnas stared.

"Did you not hear me correctly, Nine, or are you confused about the meaning of the word 'immediately'?"

"But we just got back," Demyx pointed out.

"Maybe this will teach you to treat missions with more care, then," said Xemnas, handing over a folder. "You are dismissed."

* * *

"Remind me not to screw up like this again," said Demyx as he and Roxas headed away from Xemnas's office.

"Well, I guess it was actually both of our faults since neither of us thought about it before we left," Roxas pointed out. "Still, even if I _did_ tell you not to screw up, you probably would." Demyx chuckled.

"Yeah, you'd think I'd be used to this kind of thing happening. It's not the first time I did something wrong and it won't be the last." Roxas sighed.

"Stop trying to make it sound like the whole thing is your fault. _I_ couldn't read the map either, you know."

"Well, I'm not exactly used to _you_ doing something wrong," said Demyx.

"That's because _I_ don't slack off during missions," said Roxas. "What about those couple times we went to the Olympus Coliseum and I was naïve enough to go along with your 'let's split up' idea?" Demyx scratched his head.

"Can't get away with that anymore, can I? That sucks. Well, you fell for it the longest. I'm actually surprised you didn't catch on sooner."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean," Roxas asked.

"I was just amazed at what you let me get away with," said Demyx. "Now, if _Axel_ had been on those missions with me, he would've automatically expected me to try something like that and would drag me along with him if I brought it up."

"Don't forget that I lost all my memories, so there was a lot I was still trying to figure out," said Roxas. "I guess that made me not be as good at reading people. Wait a minute. You took advantage of that to get out of doing work, didn't you?" Demyx smirked.

"It took you this long to figure it out, huh?"

"That wasn't very nice, Demyx," said Roxas.

"Hey, what'd you expect," said Demyx. "I don't like work or sweating. Being on a fighting mission forces me to do both. Do you have any idea how long I have to shower afterward?"

"Oh you poor baby," said Roxas. "Axel said sweating and work come with the job and I never hear _him_ complaining about either."

"Well, I think that's because he likes the fighting," said Demyx.

* * *

"What did you need, Superior," asked Marluxia.

"I have a mission for the two of you," Xemnas replied.

"I thought we already went on a mission today," said Larxene.

"Yes, you have," said Xemnas. "However, this mission can't go unfinished." Larxene blinked.

"So someone didn't finish the mission? Why not send _them_ out to finish it?"

"The last time I checked, Number Twelve, your job was to complete the missions given to you," said Xemnas. "The reason I am sending you on the mission is irrelevant. Now, I suggest you get to work."

* * *

"Can you believe that," said Larxene as she and Marluxia headed back down the hallway. "Someone else messes up and _we're_ stuck picking up the slack. I bet Demyx had something to do with it." Marluxia thought.

"He seems to be the most likely culprit since slacking is second nature to him. Still, he usually doesn't come back unless he's given an honest try. This is a three-day mission, so he wouldn't come back in one day just because he didn't feel up to the mission. There has to be some sort of reason."

"Whatever reason he has isn't good enough," Larxene snapped. "If I find out he's responsible, it won't be pretty." Marluxia sighed.

"It's only one mission. Besides, you've already given Demyx plenty reasons to stay away from you. Does he really need _another_ reason to avoid you?" Larxene scoffed.

"Hey, I was about to settle down for the night! Stupid Demyx being worthless all the time."

"While it probably _is_ his fault, we don't know for sure if he's involved," said Marluxia. "Though, with his track record, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he _is_ involved."

"See," said Larxene. "Why can't we just assume it's him, then?"

"Larxene, in case you forgot, we have a mission to complete," said Marluxia. "I'm not sure about you, but _I_ would rather complete it instead of debating whether or not Demyx was involved." Larxene groaned.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with."

* * *

_"Okay, this should do it," _Koxra thought as she returned to her room with a box of plastic wrap and some tape. _"I don't know how long this'll work, so I better make this shower quick."_ She taped the plastic wrap over top of some stitched up wounds that had yet to heal and prepared to get in the shower. _"I'm glad I thought of this. I don't know if getting the stitches wet will loosen them or anything, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I don't think Vexen would be too happy if he had to stitch me up again."_

* * *

"How long could it possibly take her to go and find out whether or not Koxra's in there," Axel asked. "Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to be right now." The door opened. "So, what happened?"

"I'm surprised you waited out here this whole time," said Xion, shutting the door. "It's been at least half an hour."

"I guess I could've read a book if I had one with me, but I doubt it would've helped since I don't like to read anyhow," said Axel. "What took so long?" Xion sighed.

"I walked in and tripped over a chair that was near the door. I ended up knocking over a lot of things Vexen had sitting nearby in the process. So, naturally, he burst out of his lab and ordered me to clean it up." Axel raised an eyebrow.

"But that doesn't sound like it would take much longer than five or ten minutes."

"Well, I had to put things back exactly how he wanted them and you know how picky he is about his equipment," Xion continued. "Not to mention that I think I caught him in a bad mood." Axel chuckled.

"You probably caught him in the middle of one of his 'important' experiments. Why he _chooses_ to be alone so he can tinker with things is beyond me."

"I think he does more than just tinker," said Xion.

"That just shows how little I care about what he's up to," said Axel. "So, I guess Koxra's not in there?"

"Vexen sent her back to her room a while ago," Xion replied.

"Well, let's get going in case Vexen finds something wrong with how you put things back," said Axel.

* * *

"It's nice to actually shower again," said Koxra as she grabbed her towel. Her eyes widened upon looking at the clock. "I was in there for almost an hour! I can't believe I did that! I hope none of the stitches got loosened." She paused for a few moments to inspect them. "Good. They seem to be fine."

She began to remove the tape and plastic wrap, wincing as she did so. She had dressed and was combing her hair when she heard a knock. "Hold on a couple minutes." After finishing up, she walked to the door and opened it. "Did you guys want something?" Axel crossed his arms.

"What, you think we only came here to bug you for something?"

"You mean you came to see me with no other motive," asked Koxra. "I guess I should be flattered that you took time out of your busy schedule, Axel." Axel stared.

"If that's the way you plan on acting, I don't know why I tagged along."

"Sorry," said Koxra. "I guess I should've worded that better. It's just that, you don't have to check on me, but you've been doing it anyhow."

"You expected me, though," asked Xion.

"Well, you're my mentor," said Koxra. "I like to think that you care enough to want to know how I'm doing."

"You're making it sound like she just decided to drag me along or something," said Axel.

"I didn't mean for it to sound like that," said Koxra. Xion sighed.

"You _do_ realize that you two are talking in circles, don't you?" Axel scratched his head.

"Pretty stupid now that I think about it. So, when will Vexen un-ground you?"

"I don't think it counts as grounding since he didn't technically order me to stay in the Castle," said Koxra. "Still, he said I should be back to normal in about a week or two."

"Even though he didn't order you to stay in the Castle, you probably should anyway," said Xion. "It definitely won't help any if you go running off all the time." Koxra shrugged.

"I don't think anyone will care. It's not like I'm not gonna come back."

"What reason would you possibly have for leaving the Castle in the first place," asked Axel.

"Maybe I'd like some fresh air every once in a while," said Koxra. Axel rolled his eyes.

"You could sit at the top of one of the towers if you wanted some air."

"One problem with that," said Koxra. "I'd like to see trees and we don't have those here."

"What's so great about trees anyhow," said Axel.

"What do you have against them," asked Xion.

"Nothing," Axel replied. "I just don't see why she's making such a big deal out of them." Koxra laughed.

"Didn't know you were so 'anti-tree', Axel." Axel sighed.

"How did this conversation shift to trees anyhow?"

"Something about fresh air, I think," said Koxra. "Still, we should probably knock it off. It's getting kind of ridiculous."

"Uh, why is your hair wet," asked Xion.

"Because I took a shower. What about it?"

"What about your stitches? Did Vexen say it would be safe?"

"I already thought of that and covered all the spots with plastic wrap. Vexen would probably be ticked if they came out and he had to stitch them again. I didn't even think to ask him if I could shower."

"Why risk it then," asked Axel. "If it were me, I'd be extra careful so I didn't have to go back and see him."

"That's just because you don't like being in the same room with him," said Koxra. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"You're telling me you do?" Koxra shrugged.

"Eh, he's not my favorite person in the worlds, but I can't really say I hate him."

* * *

"Man, I'm tired," said Demyx, leaning against a wall. Roxas banished his Keyblade.

"Again? You're not just saying that, are you?" Demyx stared.

"Now why would I do that? I want to get home even more than you do. I know I'm lazy, but I'm not just stopping so I can waste time. How are you not as tired?" Roxas gave him a blank stare.

"Demyx, you spent most of the time running away from the worst of the fighting. You're tired from the running." Demyx wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Gross. See, this is exactly why I don't like work. It causes sweating. Xemnas knows I don't like fighting, so why does he send me on missions that I have to fight?" Roxas shrugged.

"Maybe he's tired of you being lazy."

"Nothing wrong with lounging around," said Demyx.

"There is when you do it every chance you get," said Roxas. "And you do it in the middle of the Grey Area half the time, so Saix can see you and let Xemnas know when you're goofing off."

"Since when is playing my sitar goofing off," asked Demyx.

"That's probably how Saix and Xemnas see it," said Roxas.

"That's because all they care about are missions and Kingdom Hearts," Demyx replied. "They don't care about my free time."

"That doesn't surprise me at all," said Roxas. "Maybe if Xemnas cared about our interests as much as he did Kingdom Hearts, we would be better off." Demyx laughed.

"Yeah. He cares a lot about that moon for a guy who's not supposed to have emotions."

* * *

"Where'd you run off to," Axel asked as Demyx came in. Demyx groaned.

"Tomorrow. Right now, I just want to get some sleep." He walked over to his bed and collapsed on it.

"Alright," said Axel. "Good night, then." He looked into Demyx's room, but the Nocturne already appeared to be sleeping. _"Didn't know it was possible to fall asleep that fast. Well, better go set his alarm for him."_

* * *

"Hey, Roxas, I don't remember seeing you at dinner last night," said Koxra. She had been on her way to breakfast and almost thought the boy was sleeping while standing when she saw him. Roxas yawned and rubbed his eyes for what, to him, felt like the fiftieth time that morning.

"That's because I wasn't. Xemnas wasn't too happy with Demyx and me, so we were out on a mission." Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you two already had a mission yesterday. What'd you do to get Xemnas mad enough to send you on another one so soon?"

"It's pretty stupid actually," said Roxas. "We had to abort the other mission because neither of us knew how to read maps." Koxra blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Pretty dumb of us, huh?"

"What I mean is: there are missions that you have to read maps?"

"You didn't know?"

"Well, I've never gotten one. This isn't good."

"Let me guess: you can't read maps either, can you?"

"Well, I _was_ pretty obvious. Who knows how to read them?"

"I'd ask Zexion. I have yet to come across something he doesn't know." Koxra laughed.

"Provided he takes time out of his busy research schedule, that is." They heard a crash in the kitchen and went to investigate. They stumbled upon the cause of the noise. Demyx was on the floor with plates broken and food on the floor near him. Larxene was looking down at him, fuming.

"Why didn't you watch where you were going?" Demyx got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Hey, it was an accident. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you _will_ be sorry," Larxene snapped. Marluxia shook his head.

"Why are you wasting time threatening him? I grew tired of it after the first five times you did it." Larxene glared.

"No one asked for your opinion, Marluxia!"

"It doesn't matter," Marluxia replied. "You received it even if you didn't want it."

"Alright, that's enough, you guys," said Xigbar. "I don't care whose fault it was. I'm tired of hearing about it. Just clean up the mess and move on."

"Hey, _I_ didn't do anything, old man," said Larxene.

"Well, this is one 'old man' who will have you cleaning bathrooms if you don't follow orders," said Xigbar. "It's your choice: bathrooms or one little spill in the kitchen." Larxene knelt down and starting picking up plate fragments while grumbling. "That's what I thought." Roxas and Koxra sat down at the table.

"I wonder what happened," said Roxas. Marluxia rolled his eyes.

"Is it _really_ necessary to go through the entire scenario?"

"Long story short: they probably ran into each other," said Koxra.

"That much is obvious," said Marluxia.

"Hey, I'm just a little slow this morning," said Roxas. "Didn't get much sleep."

"Yeah, you look terrible," said Axel as he sat down. "Did you just come home, go back to your room, and collapse on your bed after giving the report like Demyx?"

"I _did_ set my alarm first," Roxas replied. "Let me guess: Demyx didn't even do _that_ much."

"Nope," said Axel. "Good thing I happened to be there." Koxra smirked.

"So, you were a good Samaritan and set it for him?"

"You say that like you didn't expect me to do a good deed," Axel said.

"Well, maybe I just think it's a little odd that you would go out of your way to avoid _directly_ waking him up," said Koxra. "I mean, why would you have a problem with it?" Axel laughed.

"It's more like I wanted him mad at the alarm instead of at me."

"Is there any particular reason why Nine and Twelve appear to be cleaning the floor instead of eating and preparing for the day," asked Saix when he reached the table. Xigbar's eyes widened.

"How did you miss that, dude? Were you asleep?" Saix stared.

"Do you really think I am the type to fall asleep at the breakfast table?" Xigbar shrugged.

"You could've had a rough time sleeping. How do you expect me to know how well you slept, Saix? It's not like I come in your room at night and spy on you."

"That doesn't answer my original question," Saix replied. "What are they doing?"

"They made a mess and are cleaning it up," said Axel. "Jeez, Saix, you leave your common sense in bed this morning?"

"How exactly would I know what's happening when I just walked in," asked Saix. Axel leaned his chair back.

"Hey, I just thought you'd be able to figure things out when you walked in." Saix glared.

"Unless something interferes with the normal mission schedule, I don't make it my business to question what other members are doing. Now, I suggest you take your mission information before I become tempted to send you to Atlantica instead."

"There's no chance of that happening," said Axel. "Did you forget fire elements, like me, don't exactly do well in worlds where everything is surrounded by water?"

"Then you would certainly have a very interesting time completing a mission." With that, Saix headed off to hand out the rest of the assignments.

"Is it one of those special days where you mess with Saix," asked Xion.

"Hey, I saw an opening and I took it," said Axel. He continued rocking backward until the chair tipped and he ended up on the floor. "Ouch! Stupid chair." Koxra shook her head.

"Can't say you didn't have it coming with the way you were rocking on it. I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"Yeah, that's right," said Axel, getting to his feet. "Go ahead and laugh."

"No one's laughing," said Roxas. Zexion sat down.

"That's simply because they are amazed at your stupidity."

"Way to give encouragement there, Zex," Axel replied.

"I see no need to encourage your behavior," said Zexion. Demyx sat down and put his head on the table. "You had better not be thinking of sleeping, Nine."

"I'm just resting my eyes," said Demyx.

"Since you're with me today, you better not spend the whole mission 'resting your eyes'," said Axel. Demyx picked his head up.

"Hey, tomorrow's Saturday, so I can sleep then. I might have to get some sugar to keep me going, though."

"Bring a bag of candy for all I care," said Axel. "As long as I don't have to drag you back to the Castle."

* * *

**Eight pages. Not that bad. I think the end kinda kept going for a while because I couldn't think of a good point to stop it at. **


	14. Ch13 Kittens and Suspicions

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra and anyone in or affiliated with the Witches of the Circle.**

* * *

"Cria, please stop," Luna begged after being sent flying across the room for the third time. "I'm sorry!"

"You weren't sorry when you were fooling around in Wonderland, were you," said Cria. "I've told you time and time again that I will not tolerate you spacing out." Luna curled up into a ball and covered her head.

"I'll do what I'm supposed to do from now on! Just don't hit me anymore!" Cria scoffed.

"So now you're making promises that we both know you won't keep? Maybe you'd rather I took it out on your brother?" There was suddenly a fire in Luna's eyes.

"Don't you lay a finger on him!" Cria smiled maliciously.

"Either I punish you or I punish him in your place. Since you don't want me to touch your precious little brother, I suggest you stop complaining." Luna shut her eyes and prepared for the next blow.

"_Mom, I wish you were still here."_

* * *

"Finally," said Koxra. "I was afraid I'd have to work up the nerve to ask Saix or Xemnas." Demyx sat his sitar down.

"I understand why you want to avoid bothering them, but why would _I_ be helpful?"

"Well, anyone would do, actually," Koxra replied. "You're just the first person I happened to run into. So, there's something I've been wondering about for a while. Does Xemnas have a problem with pets in the Castle?" Demyx shrugged.

"That would probably be a better question to ask someone who pays attention to most of the rules."

"So, you don't know," Koxra said.

"I've never really heard him say anything about it, actually," Demyx replied. "I guess if the pet didn't cause trouble, he wouldn't have a problem with it. What kind of pet are you talking about anyhow?" Koxra sat down.

"I was thinking of getting a cat."

"Eh, how much trouble could a cat cause," Demyx wondered. Koxra laughed.

"You'd be surprised, actually. My grandma had a cat that wouldn't stop climbing in her washer if she left it open." Demyx gave her a blank look.

"Okay, a cat climbing in a washer is a new one, but I don't see how it's really bad. I think it's kind of funny, actually."

"Well, he also walked on the table and the counters," said Koxra. "It shouldn't be too much trouble if I keep it in my room."

"Isn't one room a little small for a cat to explore?"

"There's also the bathroom and the other bedroom that no one's using."

"What if we get a new member who needs to use it?"

"I guess I'll just hope the new member is a cat person."

"Have you thought about where to get one and where you would find a vet?"

"There's a vet near where I used to work. As for where to get a cat, I have no clue. Do you happen to know where I could find a pet store or animal shelter?" Demyx thought for a while.

"I think I remember passing one in part of this one world called Earth." Koxra's eyes lit up.

"Where was it exactly?" Demyx scratched his head.

"I'm not really that good at giving directions."

"Why don't you trying drawing me a map, then," Koxra suggested. Demyx laughed.

"That won't work. Why do you think Xemnas got mad at Roxas and me when we came back on that mission early?" Koxra face-palmed.

"Oh, right. That slipped my mind. Would you mind showing me where it is, then?" Demyx shrugged.

"Why not? You already interrupted my sitar practice and I can't get back in the zone right now."

"Sorry about that," said Koxra. Demyx waved her off.

"It's about time I took a break anyway."

* * *

"What are you looking at, Roxas," asked Xion. Roxas turned to her.

"Oh, I was just wondering how tall this tower is." Axel rolled his eyes.

"You've been coming up here for ice-cream every day for who knows how long and you're just _now_ wondering how tall the tower is?" Demyx leaned back against the wall.

"Actually, he's the first one to bring it up. _I've_ been wondering that since day one." Axel took another bite of his popsicle.

"I guess we'll never know unless we get a member whose element is being able to measure anything."

"That doesn't sound like it would be very helpful," said Xion.

"Let's just hope no one ends up with that element," said Axel. "Because if _that_ ends up being someone's element, Xemnas would probably turn them into a Dusk unless they were good at fighting or something that could benefit him." Demyx shivered.

"Don't even _joke_ about someone getting turned into a Dusk. Back in my early days, I got threatened with that all the time. And every time, I was afraid Saix would make good on the threat." Axel finished his popsicle.

"You know he wouldn't do that unless Xemnas ordered him to. He probably just wanted to scare you into doing more work. As long as you don't hear anything from Xemnas about it, you shouldn't worry. Got it memorized?"

"That makes sense, actually," said Demyx. "But, I was new back then, so I didn't know what to think."

"And sometimes, you still don't," said Axel. Demyx smirked.

"Be nice unless you want it to magically start raining on you." Axel grinned.

"That won't happen before your coat magically catches fire." Roxas sighed.

"Enough with the threats." Demyx bit into his popsicle.

"Well, he started it." Xion rolled her eyes.

"Demyx, you're acting like a child." Roxas groaned.

"Oh, come on! I had that half-eaten." Axel laughed.

"What'd you do, drop it?" Roxas stared at him.

"It's not funny." Demyx laughed.

"I'm just imagining someone walking down there and the ice-cream dropping on them." Axel shook his head.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Roxas decided to try and distract himself from his lost ice cream.

"Hey, Demyx, where were you earlier?"

"When," asked Demyx.

"Well, you usually sit around the Grey Area and play your sitar, but you weren't there when Luxord convinced me to play a couple rounds of Go Fish at noon. We were in there for about an hour, but you didn't show up," said Roxas.

"Oh, that," said Demyx. He explained his earlier conversation with Koxra. Axel stared.

"So, if you just had to show her where the store was, why didn't you come right back?" Demyx scratched his head and looked away. "Wait, let me guess: you got one too, didn't you?"

"You wouldn't get mad if he came in your room, would you," asked Demyx. Axel laughed.

"It's a cat. It's not like you went and got a leopard, is it? I won't torch a cat for messing something up in my room or annoying me."

"Also, if you don't want him in your room, you can just shut the door," said Demyx.

"That wouldn't give the cat very much room to wander around, would it," asked Axel. "If you were that worried about a cat bugging me, why'd you just decide to get one while you were there?" Demyx sighed.

"I don't know. I just decided to go in to look around and he just caught my eye."

"And what exactly did you do when you realized you had no food or litter box for it," Axel asked after a while.

"We picked things up while we were there," Demyx answered. Sensing another question coming, he elaborated. "We made portals to our rooms and put the things through first. Then we went through with the cats." Axel stared.

"I didn't think you tried to carry everything at once."

"Sure looked like you did," said Demyx.

* * *

"Pocket," Axel asked, staring at the brown tabby kitten. "You named him Pocket?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it," Demyx replied, stroking the kitten. "Something wrong with it?" Axel shook his head.

"It's just that never in my existence have I heard of naming a cat Pocket. Besides, that name won't really work when he gets bigger, will it?"

"Well, when you adopt a cat, you can name it whatever you want," Demyx retorted.

"What makes you think I'd want to adopt a cat," Axel asked. "I don't really want a pet."

"Forgot who I was talking to, didn't I," said Demyx. Axel got in bed.

"I'm leaving the door open tonight. But if he comes in here and knocks something over, he's not allowed in my room anymore." Demyx shook his head.

"You can excuse him for at least the first week, can't you?" Axel sighed and rolled over.

"Fine. As long as he doesn't break anything important."

"Well, I highly doubt you have anything fragile in your room, so it should be fine."

"What about my movies?"

"They aren't made of glass, are they? And if you're that worried about them, maybe you should consider putting them away instead of stacking them really high on the floor after you watch them."

"I'll do it tomorrow." Demyx laughed.

"Now you and I both know you won't. It's almost like you _enjoy_ having a room that you can only see a quarter of the floor in."

"Right. Says the guy who has staff paper and instruments all over the room."

"The piccolo and harmonica fit in my desk drawer just fine and the violin is under my bed. Also, the staff paper is stacked on my desk and bedside table. None of it's on the floor." Axel snorted.

"Yeah, you're the Master of Neatness who is good about doing his laundry and not having clothes on the floor."

"Now, don't _tell_ me you didn't do your laundry."

"Good night, Demyx."

* * *

"Xemnas basically said to see if we can find out more about them and why they're following us," said Xigbar.

"Spying on others _is _your forte, Xigbar," Luxord replied, shuffling the cards. "I'm surprised that the Superior didn't assign you a mission to track them." Xigbar chuckled.

"I guess he doesn't see them as much of a threat." Zexion studied his cards.

"Hopefully they don't become a threat in the future due to us neglecting to watch them."

"A bunch of random women spying on us," said Xigbar. "Maybe they just like what they see."

Zexion rolled his eyes and shook his head. Playing cards with Numbers Two and Ten wasn't how he expected to spend his Sunday afternoon. However, it wasn't as though he was having a bad time. They had invited him over to the table when he entered the kitchen for a drink. He thought it couldn't hurt since he had been in the library all morning and had earned himself some leisure time.

"I highly doubt these women are looking for what you're implying, Two. Having seen a few of them myself, I have come up with what could be their reason for following us."

"And what's your guess, Bookworm," Xigbar asked.

"They are studying us from a distance," Zexion replied.

"Explain why they haven't tried to capture anyone to study closer," said Luxord. "Assuming that your guess is correct, that is."

"We are still relatively unknown to them," Zexion explained. "They don't know the full extent of our powers, so they are remaining in the background until they do." Luxord smirked.

"That's how you explain them following us around for the past month, is it?"

"They have probably been following us much longer. We only noticed them for the past month because they have been getting overconfident and assumed they would never be noticed."

"How do you know they've been following us longer than a month," asked Xigbar.

"I have been detecting strange scents while on missions for the past two and a half months," said Zexion. "Thirteen, Nine, Fifteen, Axel, and Marluxia have all mentioned that they felt someone following them on missions as well."

"Why didn't you bring it up if you noticed," Xigbar demanded. After a few moments of pondering, Zexion answered.

"I initially thought that it was nothing of importance. When I realized differently, I decided that I'd attempt to solve the riddle on my own before informing the Superior. I didn't believe it was anything that required immediate attention at first."

"And what if you waited too long," asked Xigbar.

"We'll merely have to wait and see as none of us can predict the future," said Zexion. Luxord smirked.

"At least now we will have someone to blame if they get in the way of completing Kingdom Hearts."

"Please, Ten, do you really think I would allow them to ruin our plans," Zexion replied. "If they interfere with the completion of Kingdom Hearts at all, they will have to be eliminated. However, if you feel the need, you can warn the rest of the members to keep watch for them."

"Think Xemmy would be interested in what kinds of things those women get up to," Xigbar asked with a chuckle.

"Even though the Superior hasn't directly ordered you to spy on them, Two, I'm certain he wouldn't object if you saw fit to spend your free time gathering information," said Zexion. Xigbar grinned.

"I was planning to spy on them anyway. Guess I can't resist an opportunity."

"That's just the reaction I expected from you," Zexion said as he looked back down at his cards. "Ten, what is it we're playing again?" Luxord scratched his head and laughed.

"We've been so caught up in talking that I've forgotten."

* * *

"What exactly are these supposed to be," asked Luxord, pointing at the plate on the table.

"_Those_, Ten, would be ribs," said Xaldin, sitting other platters down. Luxord turned away in disgust.

"They smell bloody horrible."

"I take it you do not approve of barbeque, Luxord," said Lexaeus.

"It doesn't taste good and I don't approve of the smell," Luxord replied.

"There is enough of a selection that you don't have to eat them if you find them unappealing," said Xaldin.

"That _is_ a valid point," said Lexaeus. "Still, I can't help but wonder who first decided that ribs would be acceptable to eat." Luxord looked back at the platter in question.

"I'd wager that whoever came up with this particular kind enjoyed spicy food." Zexion sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Long day, Zex," Axel asked.

"Merely symptoms of an overworked brain," Zexion replied. Koxra blinked.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to overwork your brain. I kinda thought you grew used to absorbing lots of information all day." Xigbar smirked.

"Didn't wear you out playing cards yesterday, did it, Bookworm?"

"I'll admit that it was wearing my brain down considering the fact that you and Ten continuously forgot exactly what game we were playing and had to keep changing to a new one each time," Zexion said, picking at his food.

"Sorry I'm late," said Demyx as he walked in and sat down.

"Where have you been, Nine," asked Xemnas. Demyx scratched his head.

"I accidentally fell asleep when I got back."

"I should have expected something like that, considering who I'm talking to," Xemnas replied.

"What's this," asked Roxas. Axel looked.

"It's spinach."

"But what _is_ spinach," asked Roxas. Koxra raised an eyebrow.

"Xaldin never made spinach before? I find it hard to believe that you haven't seen it once in the amount of time you've been here, Roxas." Demyx added some to his plate.

"We've had it before. It's just that Roxas was on missions every time we did." Koxra laughed.

"Makes me wonder if that happened just so Roxas would miss out on spinach." Axel rolled his eyes.

"It's a coincidence. Something like that wouldn't happen." Koxra shrugged.

"I was joking. And here I thought I was being pretty obvious."

"Didn't sound much like a joke," Axel replied. Roxas studied them.

"So, are either of you going to tell me what it is?"

"It's a vegetable. I don't think I can really say much else about it other than most people I know don't like it," said Koxra, reaching across the table.

"Um, what do you think you're doing," Axel asked. Koxra closed her hand over the handle of the gravy boat and brought it toward her.

"Well, I'm not eating mashed potatoes without gravy. It just doesn't seem right."

"So, instead of saying, 'Axel, could you pass the gravy,' you stretch for it even though I can reach it easier," said Axel. "Don't you have any table manners at all?"

"Nope," said Koxra, pouring gravy on her mashed potatoes. "Jeez, Axel, I didn't know you cared about table manners."

"Normally I don't, but seeing someone reach across the table is distracting," Axel explained. "Why haven't I seen you do it before now?"

"Well, most times I'm running late and get stuck down there," said Koxra, jerking her head in Marluxia's direction. "To be honest, I don't like sitting near him at all."

"That's why I'm glad you guys started saving me a seat," said Demyx, helping himself to some spinach. "If someone else was sitting here, odds are I'd be next to Marluxia right now."

"If you think about it, Larxene's one of the only ones who doesn't mind sitting with him," said Axel. "Vexen and Xaldin sometimes sit near him too, but I don't think either of them really care where they sit." Koxra wrinkled her nose at the spinach on Demyx's plate.

"You're _seriously_ gonna eat that?"

"Yeah," said Demyx. "Is it so hard to believe that someone likes spinach?"

"Guess not," said Koxra. "As long as you don't start putting ketchup on it like this friend I had in elementary school. It was so gross that I couldn't sit near him when we had spinach for lunch." She turned her attention back to the plate after Demyx's fork fell to it.

"You're serious?"

"Would I really make it up just to get a reaction out of you," Koxra asked.

"I'm just saying it's hard to believe anyone would do that," said Demyx. Koxra laughed.

"He wasn't exactly what you'd call 'normal'. That and he just loved experimenting with different types of food no matter how strange or gross the combination was."

"I've come across someone that was pretty similar to that," said Axel. "This girl in my town loved putting hot sauce on everything." Demyx shuddered.

"Wouldn't that set her mouth on fire?"

"Apparently, she was immune to the taste," Axel replied.

"With your element being fire, wouldn't that make _you_ immune to the taste as well," Koxra asked.

"Immune to a certain taste? I doubt it. I never tried hot sauce, so I don't know if I like it or not."

"Oh, yeah. I guess the way taste buds work doesn't really have anything to do with body temperature. I was just thinking of some old cartoons I saw when I was little where the characters would breathe fire after eating something spicy."

"Don't know why you thought it would happen in real life."

"Well, I think I was half spacing out when I thought of it."

* * *

**I should probably answer why Demyx named his cat Pocket. When my family and I went to the S.P.C.A in June 2009 to get our cat, Misty (her name was Felicity before we changed it; four syllables is too much to say in one breath and she responded to Misty better), there was a male, brown-tabby kitten named Pocket. I thought it was so cute, so I used it.**


	15. Ch14 Battles and Motivations

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Koxra and Demyx's cats, all members of the Circle, and anyone affiliated with the Circle.**

* * *

Cyril shoved his notes onto the floor. He hadn't made any progress in two months. Perhaps he should just eliminate them and call this a failed experiment? No, he had worked too hard for too long to produce these results. Maybe they needed to be studied in action more.

Their entire existence causes confusion. How can something function if it doesn't have a mind to speak of? "Your lab's a mess. What exactly have you been doing?"

"Ah, Rioris, good of you to show up, though I doubt this is a social visit." Rioris took a seat.

"I'll just get right to the point. Cria wants to know if you've learned anything interesting about the Heartless."

"She couldn't have wanted to know too badly if she didn't come herself," said Cyril. Rioris crossed her arms.

"Do I honestly look like I'm in the mood for this? Just give me something concrete that I can take back to Cria."

"I haven't learned more than I already knew," said Cyril. "I know instinct allows them to function, but I still have no idea how they can function solely on it. They have minds, but I have yet to see proof that they are capable of producing concrete thoughts."

"Having no free will of their own makes them easier to control, doesn't it," Rioris asked. "And why is it that they ally themselves with you, but refuse to listen to the rest of us?"

"I created this type in case you've forgotten," Cyril replied. "It seems only natural that they obey my every command. Still, they are the only type of Heartless that will listen. Believe me, I have tried others." Rioris tapped her cheek.

"Why do you think that is? What makes the others different other than the fact that they weren't created by you? And how would one control them?"

"I have a suspicion that the Nobodies may also hold the answer to controlling them," Cyril said.

"And how do you figure that," Rioris asked.

"They are created after their hearts are stolen and Heartless steal hearts," Cyril explained. "It stands to reason that they would be connected in some way. All the more reason to have at least one of them available for studying. And yet Cria gives you all no orders other than to spy on them. It's been at least four months, five at the latest, since I presented the Balloons during that meeting."

"I'll admit that I'd like to do something other than spying, but Cria is being cautious since we had no idea what they could do. We have more of an idea now, but we've been unable to locate where they live," Rioris replied. "And don't tell Cria I said this, but I think they're onto us."

"Too much time wasted spying on them will do that," Cyril pointed out. "They can't very well remain oblivious forever. You ladies have been getting rather clumsy." Rioris's eyes widened.

"How do you know that?"

"Nevermind how I know that, my dear. I suggest you get Cria properly motivated to act unless you wish for the Nobodies to discover you."

"I'll tell her. And the next Nobodies that enter my post will be brought straight to you."

"I can hardly wait."

* * *

Axel was devouring his breakfast as quickly as he could find each morsel. He was unaware of just how fast he was going until he started choking. Beside him, Roxas started smacking him in the back until the piece of food flew across the table and onto the wall on the other side of the room. "You okay?" Axel coughed.

"Y-yeah. Thanks." Demyx shook his head.

"You'll kill yourself one of these days. Jeez, the food's not going anywhere."

"Well, if you didn't eat anything since yesterday at this time, you'd be starving too," Axel retorted.

"And what were you doing that you couldn't eat," Demyx asked.

"A mission," Axel replied. "I was so exhausted when I got back that I just went straight to bed, remember?"

"But I thought you ate something before going to sleep," said Demyx. "I know you weren't at dinner, but I figured you had to have eaten _something_."

"Wasn't thinking about eating," Axel admitted, now pacing himself.

"Nine, since when are cookies a suitable breakfast food," asked Zexion, staring at the space in front of Demyx.

"I don't remember there being rules about what we can and can't eat for breakfast, Zexion," said Demyx. "Xion's eating pears, Roxas is eating crackers, heck, _Koxra's _over there eating cold pizza!"

"What," said Koxra. "I feel like it."

"Eating pears isn't that strange, though I _will_ have to agree with you in regards to Thirteen and Fifteen," Zexion replied. Koxra shrugged and continued eating while Roxas muttered something about not being very hungry. Zexion returned his attention to his own breakfast while Saix handed out mission assignments.

"Does Xemnas ever assign _himself_ missions," asked Koxra.

"As if," said Xigbar. "He doesn't have to _assign_ himself to do anything, Princess. Since he's the leader, he just goes on missions when he decides to. Besides, why would he have to when he has fourteen Nobodies at his disposal?"

"So _that_ explains why the rest of us have to do missions and we don't really have any idea what he's doing during the day," said Koxra.

"Yeah, basically," said Xigbar.

"Your missions, Two and Fifteen," said Saix, handing them folders and heading off to finish passing the others out.

"And here I was hoping I'd get the day off," said Xigbar. "Xaldin was sharpening his lances last night. I hate when he does that. I couldn't get to sleep till 2:00am." Demyx blinked.

"Xaldin sharpens his lances? Why would he need to do that?" Xigbar shrugged.

"Well, our weapons might be magical in a sense, but we still need to maintain them."

"What would happen if someone broke theirs," Demyx asked.

"Xemnas figured out a way to fix them with his element," Xigbar replied. "Vexen broke his shield before and Marly's scythe snapped in two that one time." Axel laughed.

"What was he trying to cut with it, the barrier between himself and sanity?"

"I _really_ should've been practicing to cut your ridiculous hair," Marluxia countered.

"Yeah, says the guy who has _pink_ hair," Axel retorted. "Why don't you dye it a more manly color?"

"At least _my_ hair doesn't make me look like a walking pincushion," Marluxia said with a smirk.

"_You_ have the hair of a woman."

"At least I don't have the body of an anorexic."

"Are you trying to start something, Petals?"

"I didn't start anything, Fire-cracker, but I'll certainly be happy to take it outside."

"That's enough from both of you," said Xigbar. "I doubt Xemnas will like it if you're wasting time picking fights with each other when you're supposed to be doing missions. So get moving before I _make_ you move." Marluxia disappeared into a portal without another word. Axel made his way to the sink, roughly dumped his dirty dishes into it, and left in the same way. After shaking his head at them, Zexion broke the silence.

"Fifteen, when you are through, we're to head for Twilight Town."

"Might as well get going, then," said Koxra, heading to the sink, dumping the leftover milk in her bowl down the drain, and putting her empty bowl and spoon in the sink. "How long are we supposed to be there?"

"Didn't you _read_ the details," asked Zexion.

"I'm not gonna read it while I'm _eating_," said Koxra. "What if I spilled something on it?"

"To summarize, Twilight Town is overrun with Watchers which we must dispose of," Zexion continued.

"Just what I wanted to do today," said Koxra. "Those stupid things practically _never_ stay on the ground. Well, let's get it over with." She opened a portal and the two disappeared inside it.

* * *

"What is it you have to tell me, Four," Xemnas asked as Vexen entered his office.

"I have finally discovered what these stones are capable of," the Academic replied. "They will be a useful tool in the future."

"What is it that they do that will be so useful," asked Xemnas.

"Superior, as you know, we have been unable to inform members of what their element is unless they accidentally access it or experiment with different abilities," Vexen began. "These stones will allow us to figure out the elements of new members without either of the previous instances occurring."

"Very well," said Xemnas. "I will call a meeting tomorrow in which you can explain the full details."

* * *

"There you are." Axel looked up.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Are you serious," asked Xion. "Did you forget that we have a mission to do?" Axel laughed.

"Sorry. Guess the fruit loop distracted me." Xion sat down.

"Well, you were kind of asking for it since you insulted him right at the table where he could hear you."

"That just means I have to make sure my brain is awake so I can give him a better verbal curb-stomp," said Axel with a smirk. Xion sighed.

"Can we just get started on the mission _before_ you think of more ways to insult Marluxia?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Axel said. "Where are we headed?" Xion face-palmed.

"You're _really_ slipping up this morning if you didn't even read the mission info. We're off to Neverland to fight some Artful Flyers, apparently. Wait, didn't Roxas say you can fly in that world?"

"Yeah," Axel replied. "I thought you got assigned there before."

"I've been there quite a few times," said Xion. "I could never find that fairy Roxas was talking about, though. Maybe she doesn't like me."

"Or maybe she has a soft spot for Roxas," Axel said with a chuckle.

"Why? Did you see her trying to flirt with him," Xion asked.

"Kind of hard to flirt when you can't talk," said Axel. "From what Roxas said and what I saw, she never said a word. So, I don't think she _could_ talk if she wanted to."

"Maybe she's a mime," Xion suggested. Axel laughed.

"Yeah right. "Whoever heard of a fairy being a mime? Trust me, she wouldn't bother with all the motions if she could talk."

"I guess I'll find out if I ever get to meet her," said Xion. "And that would be easier to do if we got going."

"Oh, right," said Axel.

* * *

"Whew, is that all of them," asked Koxra, landing back on the ground after having flipped over a Watcher and striking it with her pen in midair.

"I detect more in the building ahead," said Zexion.

"Man, I was hoping we were done," said Koxra.

"Whining won't eliminate them, Fifteen," said Zexion. "I suggest we head over there."

"Yeah, yeah," said Koxra. They found the remaining Watchers. Koxra jumped into the air while Zexion sent out Firaga spells.

"More are heading this way."

"Honestly, can't we catch a break," asked Koxra, destroying the last one in the building.

"Apparently not," said Zexion. "Perhaps we should back ourselves into that corner over there."

"You mean I cover you while you cast magic at them," asked Koxra.

"Exactly," Zexion replied. "I could use my powers to trick them, but I'd rather not unless I have no other choice." He shot Firaga at the entrance when the Watchers arrived, taking out four in one blast. Koxra stood in front of him and took out the ones that got past the Firaga spells.

"They just keep coming," said Koxra, panting.

"Nonsense," said Zexion, destroying another with Firaga. "We almost have them all beaten." Though, he had to question his own statement. He was feeling rather drained himself and his Firaga spells were doing less damage than they had been before. Number Fifteen didn't look any better than he felt. She _had_ been doing most of the melee combat, though and that required more movement. Still, she should be ready to go soon after all the Watchers were gone.

With each Firaga spell, he felt as though he was getting weaker. He shook off the thought. It was his imagination. There would be plenty of time to rest when the mission was complete. After a final pen stroke followed by another Firaga spell, the Watchers were finally gone. He could detect no more in the immediate area and was about to suggest to Koxra, who was on her knees panting, that they should be off when he started feeling faint. Zexion tried to remain standing, but his weakened state got the best of him and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Zexion, Zexion, are you okay?" Why would Fifteen ask that if he was on the floor? Shouldn't the answer be obvious? Nevermind that. Why was everything dark? He didn't realize his eyes had been closed until he had opened them. "Good, you're awake."

"Why does merely falling over cause such a reaction," Zexion asked, easing himself to a sitting position. Koxra blinked.

"Uh, Zexion, you passed out. Don't you remember? You've been out for at least ten minutes."

"I have," Zexion asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Koxra replied. "I guess casting all those Firaga spells took a lot out of you. Wait, why didn't I pass out since I was moving around more?"

"I assume I passed out from mental exhaustion as casting magic takes up mental energy," Zexion replied, slowly getting to his feet. He swayed a little and leaned against the wall to get his balance. How could he have exhausted himself that much without realizing it? Was he too focused on eliminating the Watchers? Koxra studied him.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yes. Let's RTC." He summoned up a portal, amazed that he still had the strength to do so. He finally caught his balance and made his way into it, staggering slightly while Koxra followed.

* * *

Demyx was sitting on a couch in the Grey Area reading a book on music theory when a portal appeared. He looked up to see Zexion coming out of it rather unsteadily and an exhausted Koxra following behind him. Koxra closed the portal and sank into the couch while Zexion leaned against the wall.

"What happened to you two?"

"An army of Watchers coming at us all at once," Koxra replied.

"It wasn't exactly 'all at once', but as soon as we defeated one group, another took its place," Zexion explained. "It's almost as if the number of Watchers multiplied since the population was last checked."

"No wonder you look so beat, then," said Demyx. "How many did you fight?"

"One hundred and thirty seems likely," Zexion replied. "I may have lost count at some time, but that's my closest estimate."

"I still can't believe you were able to count that many while we were fighting," said Koxra. "You must be really good at multitasking."

"I suggest we report to the Superior before we waste any more time," said Zexion, pushing himself away from the wall and regaining his balance.

"Uh, shouldn't you rest," asked Koxra, getting to her feet.

"There will be time for that later, Fifteen," said Zexion. He went into the hallway. Demyx looked at Koxra, but all she did was shrug and follow the Schemer. Demyx sighed and returned to his book. Something had happened during the mission, but Koxra wasn't telling him what it was for whatever reason. Well, it wasn't like he could read her mind.

"I can't believe we actually got lucky enough to find her," Xion exclaimed, exiting a portal with Axel behind her.

"Xion, this is the sixth time you brought that up since we finished the mission. Could you give it a rest already?"

"I just can't believe I actually flew!"

"It's not that big of a deal once you've done it more than once. Xaldin could do it every day if he wanted to." Demyx laughed.

"I can't see Xaldin randomly using wind currents to fly around for fun. He'd probably think using his element like that would be childish."

"Just because I said he _could_ doesn't mean I think he _would_," said Axel. "He only does that when he thinks it's necessary. He doesn't use his element to goof off."

"Since when do I goof off," asked Demyx.

"A lot. You're known for it. Plus, I swear I saw you outside the Castle the other day, dancing with your water-clones."

"It was just some harmless fun."

"Which I'd expect you to do somewhere where it isn't possible for Xemnas to see you. You better hope he didn't, or he might think you have too much free time and assign you extra missions."

"Don't even bring that up. I barely have enough free time now." Axel stared at him.

"Yeah, from what I can see, you are clearly busy with some very important mission for the Organization."

"Alright," said Demyx. "I'm a slacker. Happy?"

"Well, I already knew you were a slacker," Axel replied.

"Um, are you two going somewhere with this," Xion asked. Demyx shrugged.

"I think we're just rambling back and forth now. You guys better go give your report before Saix finds you and starts asking why you're standing around." Axel sighed.

"Might as well. I'm not in the mood to deal with him right now." Demyx was about to point out that Axel _never_ seems to be in the mood to deal with Saix, but decided not to. After all, the longer they stood around, the more likely it would be that Saix or even Xemnas would come looking for them.

* * *

"Cyril believes that the Nobodies could hold the answers to our questions about Heartless," asked Cria. "And has he realized that it would be unlikely that they would tell us anything?"

"I'm sure he has," said Rioris. "Still, that's another reason to move beyond spying on them. Surely we can contain a few and allow Cyril to study them?"

"I honestly don't believe that we'd learn much more about them if we spied on them for a year or more," Cria replied. "Also, if we can ensnare just one of them, we can work on forcing them to give us the location of their home world. Very well. Inform everyone that the new orders are to capture any they come across. Only kill them if it's absolutely necessary."

"Should I resume my post, then," asked Rioris.

"Yes," said Cria. "I should send Kairen out to recruit people so we can keep watch on more places as well."

"Maybe if you were less selective about who can join us, we wouldn't have a need to recruit anyone," Rioris pointed out. "Why is it that you only accept those with green eyes?"

"Those with green eyes have either dabbled in the art of draining themselves or are related to someone who has," said Cria.

"Why keep Luna, then," asked Rioris.

"There is no reason for you to know since the events that caused it happened before you joined us," said Cria. "Now get back to your post, or you will be blamed if some Nobodies pass through without your notice." Seeing no point in arguing further, Rioris teleported away.

* * *

"Okay, I'm officially beat," said Koxra as she and Zexion exited Xemnas's office.

"I was under the impression that you were tired earlier," was the Schemer's reply.

"Well, it's official now," Koxra said lazily. "Just stop messing with me."

"I was only restating what you had said before," said Zexion. "Standing around discussing whether or not I'm poking fun at you is a waste of time for both of us, however."

"Yeah, you have a point there," Koxra admitted. "Wait, can you even make it to your room in your condition?" Zexion opened a portal.

"I never said I was taking any chances." He walked into it and closed it behind him. Taking Zexion's lead, the Mind Mage decided to do the same thing.


	16. Ch15 Changes and Curiosity

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Nikki, and Pocket.**

* * *

"So how exactly do you expect to find out where those ruins are," Koxra asked. "Are you just gonna walk up to some random person and ask them?"

"I have my ways," Axel replied with a smirk. "You can either try asking people or sit on that bench until I'm done." Koxra scoffed.

"You expect me to sit there and watch you do whatever you're planning on doing? Yeah, think again, buster." As she walked away, she couldn't help but wonder why Axel seemed so happy about the idea of interrogating people and what methods he used. She had a partial answer when she looked across the street and saw him having what appeared to be a rather animated conversation with a young girl. Suddenly feeling queasy, she turned away and decided to pretend that she didn't see anything. Forgetting about trying to interrogate people, she sat down on the edge of the fountain in the center of town and absentmindedly moved her hand around in the water.

While the method Axel had chosen would be seen as unorthodox by many of the senior Organization members, he found it rather effective, especially when trying to get information from a member of the opposite sex. It had led to finding the location of the ruins rather quickly so he and Koxra could get some rubbings for Zexion. How the Schemer was able to convince Xemnas that this was important enough to send anyone out, Axel had no idea. One would think that Zexion would've known where to find the ruins if he knew there were ancient writings somewhere in them. But, from what the Flurry had heard, Zexion had only heard a rumor the last time he was here. Still, he had somehow persuaded Xemnas to send the two of them out to see what writings, if any, were in the ruins and make rubbings to bring back.

There was really no need to send two of them, but Koxra and he had both had off the day before and there weren't enough missions for them each to have one to themselves. It was a mystery as to why the missions were few today. Perhaps Xemnas had had a long day and wasn't able to think straight? Whatever the reason, there was no use standing around when there was a job to do. It was time to find where Koxra had wandered off to. It didn't come as a shock to Axel that she wasn't sitting on the bench. She hadn't exactly approved of the suggestion.

Thinking she was interrogating villagers, Axel headed down the street. He spotted her in the center of town. Why was she wasting time playing in the fountain when they had a job to do? It didn't really matter why she was there; he just had to get her moving, so he approached her.

"Hey, I know where the ruins are now. How about we get moving?" Koxra lifted her head, looking somewhat dazed.

"Oh, sorry. I was just spacing out. So, are we done here?"

"Yeah, we better head to the ruins now." He set off with Koxra trotting slightly to catch up.

"So, can I ask how you got that information?" Axel smirked.

"Let's just say I have a way of making people feel guilty about not telling me what I want to hear."

"And by 'people', you mean 'girls'."

"If you saw me, why are you asking?"

"Hmm, just wondering what exactly you were saying to her. You both certainly looked like you were having a good time. You didn't make a promise to her that you weren't planning on keeping, did you?"

"Is it really any of your business if I did?"

"I'm just not sure I like the idea of leading her on and then disappointing her when you disappear."

"Hey, I only do that kind of thing when the rest is getting me nowhere. Besides, after that, I really have to be extra sneaky the next time I show up in that world."

"What, are you afraid that some of them might find you and wonder why you didn't make good on whatever you promised them?"

"Since when were you so interested in my questioning methods?"

"I'm not. I'm just asking out of curiosity." She was acting pretty weird. It was almost like she was a little mad at him. What reason would she have to be mad, though? "Look, can we just drop this and finish the mission?" He hadn't been expecting _that_. Still, there was plenty of time later to try and figure out what she was mad about.

"Yeah. I'd really like to get back to the Castle. These types of missions can't keep me occupied for very long."

"Boring when there aren't any Heartless to slice in half?"

"Not only that, but this mission is kind of insulting since it's the kind that _Demyx_ usually gets sent on."

"What do you have against Demyx?"

"Nothing. I just like picking on him sometimes."

"But you're not doing it while he's here, so he can't defend himself."

"I doubt he'd defend himself this time since he knows I'm telling the truth. He _loves_ missions with no fighting."

"So, you don't think there's the slightest chance that we'll have to fight anything while we're here?"

"Absolutely no chance at all."

"That _does_ sound pretty boring."

"All the more reason to get this mission done as soon as possible."

* * *

_"Why is it impossible for that half-wit to water a garden properly,"_ Marluxia wondered as he stormed down the hallway. That water-user had gone too far this time! His precious roses were only safe due to Lexaeus arriving in time to create cracks in the Earth for the water to escape into. Half a dozen exotic plants didn't make it due to the seeds being washed away after the Nocturne's pathetic attempt to help them grow faster. The fool had no idea how to care for plants. This was the last time Marluxia tried to spare himself a bit of effort by having Demyx water his plants.

* * *

"You did _what_," Koxra asked, after Demyx had finished explaining. She had wanted to think about what happened that day, but coming home to find Number Nine in her room had put all other thoughts out of her mind.

"Well, I thought more water would help them grow faster," he said. "I guess I overdid it a little." Koxra blinked.

"'A little'? Flooding Marluxia's entire garden is no 'little' screw-up!"

"It wasn't my fault," Demyx protested. "He didn't tell me how much water to give them."

"You don't spend much time around plants, do you," Koxra asked.

"I thought that was obvious," said Demyx.

"It doesn't make sense why Marluxia wanted you to water his plants, then," Koxra said, tapping her cheek. "I thought he did it himself."

"Usually he does," Demyx replied. "I think he just asked me to do it because he was busy."

"Busy doing what," Koxra asked. "And what happened in the past when he was busy?"

"He said something about cross-pollenating some types of plants or something like that," said Demyx. "Said he was close to a breakthrough and asked me surprisingly politely if I would water his garden while he was working."

"And now, for the other question I'd like to know the answer to," Koxra said. "Why did you decide to hide in my room?"

"Well, my room would be too obvious and I figured Pocket could play with Nikki if either of them got bored," said Demyx. "Plus, I figured your room would be the last place Marluxia would look since he doesn't exactly like you." Koxra shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I don't care for him too much either. He kinda bugs me. So, how long do you plan on laying low in here?"

"At least until dinner," said Demyx. "That should give Marluxia time to cool off. He _really_ explodes whenever someone messes with his plants."

"Kinda like _you_ when someone messes with your sheet music, huh," said Koxra.

"Yeah," said Demyx. "It's _a lot_ like that. Everyone has something that sets them off. Just to make sure, you don't mind me hiding in here, do you?"

"I _did_ want to do some thinking, but I can do that later," Koxra replied.

"About what," Demyx asked.

"Let's just say that I have to get some personal things sorted out," Koxra said, sitting down on the bed.

"Hmm, I don't think about that kind of thing a lot," said Demyx. Koxra laughed.

"You don't seem to really think about anything that doesn't have anything to do with getting extra free time or playing your sitar."

"I guess I _don't_ think about much else, do I," Demyx said with a chuckle. There was knock on the door and Koxra went to answer it.

"Axel, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask you something," he said. "Hang on, what is Demyx doing in your room?"

"Hiding from Marluxia," Koxra answered. "He screwed up his garden, apparently."

"Hey, I didn't try it," Demyx snapped. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Suuure you didn't, mullet-boy. Still doesn't explain why you're hiding here instead of somewhere else."

"Since Marluxia doesn't like Koxra, he probably won't be checking her room anytime soon," said Demyx.

"Well, I guess you can have good ideas sometimes," said Axel.

"What do you mean, 'sometimes'," asked Demyx.

"A lot of the things you do during the day are _not_ good ideas, but you do them anyway," Axel replied.

"Okay, I think that's enough now, Axel," Koxra cut in. "Did you come here to talk to me or to insult Demyx?"

"I wasn't insulting him," said Axel. "I was just messing with him. Besides, why would I be planning to say anything to him when I didn't know he was here?"

"Right, forgot about that," said Koxra. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Maybe I should just come back when Demyx isn't hiding in here," said Axel.

"What else do you want me to do," asked Koxra. "I'm not kicking him out while Marluxia's still in a mood. Who knows what he'll do to him?"

"So, I guess I'll just come back after dinner," said Axel.

"Fine by me," Koxra said.

* * *

By the time everyone sat down for dinner, Marluxia seemed to be quite calm. However, he was still throwing Demyx glares at random. Demyx pretended not to notice and continued his meal, grateful that he wasn't sitting anywhere near the Graceful Assassin. Roxas and Xion wanted to know what was going on, so he told them.

Next to Demyx, Koxra was picking at her food and had hardly touched it. She kept thinking back to what happened earlier during the mission. Why did seeing the way Axel was talking to that girl earlier bother her so much? Was it because she thought it was wrong if he made a promise he couldn't keep? That seemed to be only part of the reason and a pretty small part at that. Why couldn't she figure it out and why had she started asking him about his interrogation methods? Whatever she told him, it wasn't due to curiosity. More importantly, why had the space where her heart should be felt funny? Could she be falling for him?

Koxra dropped her fork after that thought. After getting looks from those sitting closest to her, she picked her fork up and shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her mind. Why would that be the answer? Clearly, there was something else she still hadn't thought of that made more sense than that.

After hearing about Demyx's problems with Marluxia, Xion continued her meal until the clang of Koxra's fork had caught her attention. The blue-haired girl was certainly acting strangely. It couldn't be a case of her not liking the food since fish was one of her favorite meals. The best guess Xion had was that Koxra simply wasn't in the mood to eat. Why that would be, she didn't know. She noticed that the Mind Mage had been glancing at Axel several times. Could he have something to do with it? There had to be some reason she was staring at him.

Zexion shook his head. First Fifteen had been behaving strangely and now Fourteen appeared to be following. Would this epidemic spread around the table until it had affected _everyone_? He hoped not. Well, if it did, he would likely leave before it reached him. He was almost finished anyway and he needed to start working on translating those rubbings before he turned in for the night.

* * *

"Okay, what did you want to ask me that you didn't want Demyx to know about," asked Koxra.

"Well, it's something I wanted to know during the mission, but I didn't think then would be a good time to ask," said Axel. "Why did it seem like you were a little mad at me earlier?"

"Did it," Koxra asked. "I didn't know. I guess it had to do with your methods of questioning. Pretty dumb reason to get mad since I can't really do anything about it."

"Is that the same reason you were sitting at the fountain instead of trying to ask people for information," Axel asked. "Because I didn't buy the 'spacing out' excuse at all."

"Seemed like you did at the time," Koxra pointed out.

"I wasn't going to play twenty questions when we had a mission to do," Axel replied. "That would've been stupid."

"Wasn't even thinking about that," Koxra confessed. "It kind of caught me off guard when I saw you. I thought I'd been on enough missions with you that what you did during one wouldn't surprise me. But I never knew you used flirting as a way to gather information."

"I don't exactly call it 'flirting'," said Axel. "Flirting is a pleasure and it wouldn't be right to do something like that while I was working."

"What do you call it, then," Koxra asked.

"I prefer to think of it as 'charming people for information'," said Axel. "If I was seriously trying to flirt with them, I'd be using my best material." Koxra rolled her eyes.

"Why do I get the feeling that you do this a lot?"

"Not as much as I used to," Axel admitted. "I haven't come across anyone I wanted to try it on in a while."

"Is that because you already tried all the best candidates," Koxra asked with a laugh.

"Just haven't really been up to it," said Axel.

"Really," Koxra said in disbelief. "When was the last time you went on a date?"

"Isn't that a personal question," Axel asked. "Jeez, I don't even talk about that with Roxas and Xion."

"That's because you know they probably wouldn't understand what you were talking about," Koxra pointed out. "But, you're right. That _is_ a personal question. It's not really any of my business." Axel crossed his arms.

"Why ask, then?" Koxra shrugged.

"Just slipped out, I guess."

* * *

"Roxas, what exactly are you doing in the library?" The Key of Destiny jumped and turned around to face his red-headed friend.

"How did you know I was in here?"

"Zex asked if I would remove you while he got himself a sandwich," Axel replied. "He doesn't mind you reading, but he's tired of the humming that comes with it." Roxas laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I can always take a couple back to my room where I won't bug him." Axel leaned against the bookshelf.

"So, why the sudden interest in reading."

"You're always talking about how clueless I am," said Roxas. "I thought this would be a good idea."

"_What_ are you reading anyway," Axel asked, making his way over to the table. Roxas instinctively tried to cover the pile of books with his body, realizing that he failed miserably when Axel extracted a book out from under him and examined it. Roxas looked up to see his mouth hanging open.

"Is this a _romance_ novel?" Number Thirteen turned beet red and slowly nodded. "Why the hell would you be reading anything like _this_?"

"Remember when I went to that one world with Xaldin," Roxas asked, avoiding eye contact. "I came back and asked you what he meant when he was talking about love. Well, I kind of wanted to see if I could find out more about it." Axel face-palmed and shook his head.

"This book right here won't help you at all. It has nothing but smut in it." Roxas blinked.

"What's that? Is that what those people were doing in that book? Why were they taking their clothes off and touching each other?"

"Okay, I think that's enough of this book. I _really_ don't want to have to be the one to give you 'The Talk' which you should've already had by your age," said Axel.

"Now I'm _really_ lost," said Roxas. "What's 'The Talk'?" Axel rubbed his temples.

"Guess I'll probably end up being the one to tell you anyway. Still, I think it might be overwhelming if I give you the details all at once. I can probably explain things without getting into any of the 'naked moments' you read about. It's been a long day and I'd rather not get into that until another time."

"Oh," said Roxas. It was clear that he was disappointed, but just explaining something as simple as kissing to him would probably take the Flurry hours. If only the kid had memories from his Somebody's life.

"Don't be like that," said Axel. "I'm just trying not to give you an overload."

"What makes you think I'd have an overload," asked Roxas.

"Well, you _are_ the kid that I had to explain laughing to," Axel pointed out.

"Hey, that's not my fault," said Roxas. Axel crossed his arms.

"So, what exactly would you like explained?"

"A lot of them were talking about this 'kissing' thing. What is it?" Axel could've mentally kicked himself for agreeing to this. The first thing out of his friend's mouth had to be that. With how little Roxas knew about the subject, Axel dreaded the moment that he'd have to explain the more serious activities. Still, what other choice did he have other than to allow the blond to read books similar to the one that he had recently sat back down on the table and get confused? It's also possible that he would try imitating some of the things he read about and that would likely cause all sorts of trouble depending on who he did those things to. Though, if Roxas would people-watch once in a while, he might find out about kissing.

"The most common one is when two people touch lips."

"Huh? But why would they do that?" Axel sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. After he gave a general explanation as to why two people would do that, he had to deal with Roxas asking if everyone could do it with anyone they liked. Not wanting the Key of Destiny to go around trying it on him, he explained that the form of kissing he described is usually done by two people who are in love and not just friends. After explaining other places where kissing could occur, Axel knew he had to make sure the boy didn't overstep anyone's personal boundaries.

"Even though certain types are less about love, you have to know that there are people who wouldn't be too crazy about being kissed. Got it memorized?"

"But how am I supposed to know if they'll have a problem with it or not," asked Roxas.

"Just don't try it if you're not sure," Axel suggested.

"Okay," said Roxas. "But the way you kept saying it, it seemed like only a girl and a boy do it."

"Didn't mean for it to sound like that," said Axel. "Sure two guys or two girls could do it for the same reasons if they wanted to, but it's not something I really see on a daily basis. Actually, I don't really see kissing _at all_ on a daily basis."

"I can't really picture Xemnas doing it," Roxas said with a laugh.

"Unless he tried kissing Kingdom Hearts, which I wouldn't be surprised if he did," Axel joked. "Though if he tried doing it to me, I think I'd run the other way. Not that I think he _would_ try doing it to me."

"Is that the end of lessons today, Professor Axel," Roxas asked. Axel waved it off.

"Just get back to your room and promise me you'll stop reading those books."

"Alright, I won't even _look_ at them anymore," said Roxas as he left the library.

* * *

Axel stepped through the portal and collapsed onto his bed. He was about to go to sleep when he heard a noise that wasn't appropriate for this time of night. He groaned and attempted to muffle the sound with his pillow.

"Demyx, do you have any idea what time it is? Banish that thing and go to sleep."

"How can you ask if _I_ know what time it is when _you_ just got back to your room? You weren't talking with Koxra this whole time, were you?"

"Wait, how did you—oh, right. You were in the room. Well, talking to Koxra didn't take that long at all."

"What were you doing then, sleepwalking or doing some late-night reading maybe?"

"Now you know I don't read. Still, I was in the library."

"Why?"

"Roxas was making too much noise and Zex wanted him out."

"Wait, what was _Roxas_ doing in the library? I don't remember _him_ liking to read."

"Let's just say he was trying to figure things out on his own, so it's about time someone gave him 'The Talk'." Demyx laughed.

"Man, you get stuck with the worst jobs."

"Oh, shut up. I'll probably have to do the same thing with Xion in the future since she has the same memory problems. Now enough with the sitar."

* * *

Axel was lounging in the Grey Area and heard footsteps. He looked up and realized it was Xemnas. Something must have happened for the Superior himself to show up. He went up to Axel and informed him that he was to go and wait in the Round Room. After eyeing him suspiciously, the Flurry opened a portal and went in. What could Xemnas possibly want him in here for? And why was no one else there? Xemnas came out of a portal, followed by Roxas carrying a toaster.

Axel raised an eyebrow at the toaster and asked what was going on. Xemnas explained that Vexen and he had wanted to do a test to see if Nobodies reproduced differently than other people. What did that have to do with Roxas, him, and the toaster, then?

Xemnas stared at Axel and told him that it was obvious why they were all here. He was to attempt to impregnate Roxas and the toaster while they were being observed. Axel pointed out that toasters couldn't be impregnated and neither could Roxas, so this experiment was completely pointless.

The Superior decided on another suggestion. What if Vexen used a potion to make Roxas and the toaster into women, then so this experiment would work? Believing at last that Xemnas had lost his sanity, Axel opened a portal only to be grabbed by Samurai Nobodies and dragged away from the portal as Roxas declared he too was interested in the experiment and wouldn't allow Axel to ruin things.

"Axel!"

The Samurais shook him as if they were trying to give him whiplash.

"Axel!"

He tried burning them, but they seemed unaffected and continued shaking him.

"Axel, get up!"

He felt like he would be sick when Roxas walked over and started slapping him.

"Axel, wake up!" He looked up and saw the Melodious Nocturne standing over him. "Finally. Man, you were really freaking me out there." He sat up and rubbed his temples.

"What happened?" Demyx shrugged.

"No idea. You just started yelling 'no' over and over again in your sleep." Axel blinked.

"So, I was…dreaming?"

"Well, yeah. You didn't leave your bed while you were doing it. At first I thought you were just talking in your sleep, but then you got louder, so I went to your room to see what was going on. You were thrashing around like you were having a seizure or something, so I tried shaking you awake at first. When that didn't work, I had to try hitting you. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I just had one of the most disturbing dreams I ever had. That's the last time I eat a bag of chips before going to sleep."

"Wait, when did you have time to eat chips?"

"That's why I didn't come back until forty-five minutes after I finished talking to Roxas."

"Oh. So, what did you dream about?"

"Yeah, like I'm telling you. That dream's going to stay in my head so I can start repressing it."

"As long as you're okay now," said Demyx. "Must've been one disturbing dream if you want to repress it."

"Get back to bed, Demyx," said Axel. "I'd like to get back to sleep."

"Okay," said Demyx. "I can see you're in a bit of a mood."

* * *

"Lexaeus, what exactly is that supposed to be," asked Koxra.

"I thought you would recognize a piece of cake on sight," said Lexaeus.

"I know it's cake, but why are you eating it," Koxra asked.

"It's the custom of residents of many different worlds to eat breakfast before starting the day," Lexaeus replied.

"I believe Fifteen is questioning your choice of breakfast, Lexaeus," Zexion said, not even looking up from his book. "Although one who eats cold pizza for breakfast has little right to question someone else's food choices." Koxra shrugged.

"Well, I tried it one time and I just liked it. Still, I guess I don't really have any room to talk."

"Fifteen, your mission was presented to you over _ten minutes_ ago," said Saix. "Why are you still wasting time here?"

"Because I'm eating."

"It appears to be more along the lines of procrastinating since your plate is clean," said Saix. Koxra looked at the plate in question and laughed.

"Oh, when did _that_ happen?"

"Regardless, it's about time you left the Castle," said Saix. Koxra groaned.

"Fine. Guess my mission is so important that it can't wait another minute." She disposed of the paper plate. "Hey, Demyx?"

"What is it?"

"I'll probably be gone for at least two days, depending on how big this world is, so would you feed Nikki for me?"

"Sure. No problem."

"Thanks," Koxra said as she created a portal and disappeared into it.

* * *

**For the record, I have no idea what was going through my head when I thought up Axel's dream.**


	17. Ch16 Rescue

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Nikki, Pocket, Rioris and the world known as Covenant.**

* * *

"Hey, Axel, have you seen Koxra anywhere," asked Demyx as he entered the Grey Area.

"No," said Axel. "Why?"

"Well, she said she'd be gone for about two days and it's been three days now," said Demyx. "Do you think she'll be back soon, or should I feed her cat for her again?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"Use some common sense and feed the poor cat. No sense letting it starve. Besides, Koxra wouldn't be too happy with you when she got back."

"Right," said Demyx. "Why didn't _I_ think of that?" Axel shook his head as the Nocturne left the room. Demyx needed to learn to use his head for more than music every once in a while. If the Mind Mage hadn't returned yet, it was obviously that her cat still needed fed. Demyx had agreed to do it and shouldn't stop doing it just because Koxra's been gone longer than she thought she would be.

Koxra had said the mission would take at least two days depending on the size of the world, so if she still wasn't back, the world she's exploring must be pretty big. It's also possible that she got lost either due to her poor sense of direction or due to being in an unexplored world. It was most likely a mixture of both, so she could possibly arrive home late tomorrow.

Axel stretched out on the couch. A nap would be nice right now. Hopefully, no one else bothered him for the next couple hours. He also hoped that he wouldn't have a repeat of strange dreams. He had succeeded in repressing the previous one for the most part. All he could remember was that it involved a toaster. The only problem that he still had was that he got very uncomfortable when he saw Roxas making toast.

* * *

Koxra woke up, still feeling the pain in her side as well as the pressure of the restraints on her wrists and ankles. She had finally given up thinking that she was dreaming that she was strapped to that table. After all, she had never felt physical pain in a dream before. She tugged at the straps, only to find out that they hadn't loosened in the slightest.

She lifted her head after hearing footsteps and realized that that woman had returned. Rioris, she had called herself, not that Koxra particularly cared at this point in time, but it was nice to have a name she could curse. Rioris picked up the knife that she had placed on the nearby table.

"I thought you were done with that," Koxra said. "You already know I bleed in one spot, so wouldn't it make sense that I bleed everywhere else too?" Rioris smirked at this and sat the knife down.

"And here I thought I'd gotten rid of some of your attitude."

"It's not attitude, it's fact."

"Well, then, before I discover whether or not you have a heart in there, I'd like to run some other tests. Unless you'd like to tell me how to get to that home of yours?"

"Forget it."

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to see if you can feel temperatures since I already know that you can bleed and feel pain." She lit a candle and Koxra's eyes widened.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Well, now you sound scared. Maybe the rumors about Nobodies lacking emotions was incorrect." Koxra bit back a scream as the candle wax landed on her leg. "Hmm, maybe that wasn't quite hot enough. I'll have to try something else." She put the flame right up against Koxra's arm. The Mind Mage wasn't able to stop the scream from coming out this time and a satisfied Rioris continued the same method with other parts of her body.

As it went on, Koxra wondered if she would ever be able to get free. How many days had it been? She couldn't even give an estimate. Was anyone looking for her? If they were, they better show up soon. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. It was a shame that she couldn't tell Axel that she finally figured out why watching him questioning that girl had her so upset that day. Well that was strange. Why was she thinking about Axel at a time like this?

* * *

"Axel, wake up." He opened his eyes and came face-to-face with Demyx.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm sleeping here?"

"Don't you already have an extra mission since you were late yesterday," Demyx asked. Axel sat up.

"Well, I don't exactly see any outlets in here for an alarm clock. So how exactly am I supposed to know when to get up?" Demyx sighed.

"You've got Roxas and Xion worried, you know. Why have I been finding you in the Proof of Existence for the past three days?" He suddenly realized something. "Wait, are you _that_ worried about Koxra?" Axel got up.

"It's been almost two weeks. If I didn't see that her Proof was blue right in front of me, I would've thought she faded."

"I'll admit that Xion and I have checked every day, but we haven't camped out here," said Demyx. "If you're worried enough to do that, why didn't you go and try to find her? I'd help you look, but I don't know where to start."

"Same here," said Axel. "I don't know what world she was sent to."

"You don't think she ran away or something, do you," Demyx asked. Axel stared.

"Now, do you really think she would leave her cat here if she wanted to run away? If she left her cat, that empty spot in her chest would probably break."

"Oh, good point," said Demyx. "She does care about Nikki, otherwise she never would've got her and never would've asked me to feed her while she was gone." He leaned against the wall. "So, what can we do, then?"

"Since it's been so long, Xemnas is bound to start wondering what's going on," said Axel. "So, it's probably only a matter of time before he sends someone to find out. He'll probably end up sending Zex at the very least since it'll be easier for him to find her." Roxas skidded to a halt and panted heavily. "What's the problem?"

"Finally found you. Saix isn't too happy, so I said I'd track you down." Axel scratched his head.

"Guess I should get going. I probably have a mission if Saix is looking for me."

* * *

"So, Number Eight, you have finally decided to grace me with your presence," Saix said when Axel entered the Grey Area.

"Telling me off for being late won't help me get out of here any faster, Saix," Axel pointed out. "Just give me my mission already."

"Very well," said Saix. "You and Six are to head for Covenant and sweep the world for any traces of Fifteen. The Superior agrees that she has been taking entirely too long and he has been more than tolerant."

"Where's Zex, then," Axel asked, keeping his comment about it taking long enough to send someone to look to himself. He turned his head after hearing a book slam closed.

"Waiting for you to decide that you had enough sleep," the Schemer replied. "Now that you're finally here, I suggest we get to Covenant."

"You could've stood here and waited," said Axel as he opened a portal.

"I assumed you would have a late start again," said Zexion. Axel just shook his head as the two disappeared into the portal.

* * *

"Smell anything," Axel asked. Zexion raised an eyebrow.

"We've only just arrived. Allow me time to concentrate so we aren't forced to ask the locals." He couldn't help but think that Axel seemed to be in somewhat of a panic. He brushed it off. Such a thing was ridiculous for Nobodies. Although, how did he explain his friendship with Lexaeus? Zexion shook his head. Now was not the time to have a debate with himself. He needed to focus on locating Fifteen so they could RTC.

"I believe I've caught the scent," he said at last. "However, it's rather faint, so don't break my focus." He walked in the direction of the scent with the Flurry following in his wake.

Knowing that it wouldn't help if he kept bugging Zexion, Axel remained silent. Still, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. If Koxra had planned to run away from the Organization, why would she stay in the same world that she was sent to for her last mission? There was no way she would be that stupid. So, if she didn't run away, why hadn't she returned? Since he had seen her Proof just recently, it was obvious that she hadn't faded. Could she be in some sort of trouble? If he had a heart, he was sure that thought would've caused it to skip a beat.

* * *

Rioris finished taking notes and put them together. There was nothing better to do since her subject was currently unconscious. Surely Cyril wouldn't be too angry at her for not immediately bringing him the first Nobody she caught in this world like she had told him she would. Well, this way, he would have some information ahead of time to reference for any future experiments involving Nobodies.

Now, what to do with the girl? She had lasted for quite some time and Rioris had been able to obtain satisfactory data about the Nobodies even if she was never able to get the location of their home out of her captive. Still, if she was released, she could possibly warn the others. The only options left were killing her or draining her. Even though she barely had any energy to drain, Cria would most likely approve of it. Who knows what powers could be gained from draining a Nobody? Besides, draining someone killed them anyway, so it was the better option.

Rioris sat the notes on the table and made her way to the unconscious girl. This was too easy, but still necessary. She only hoped her next draining victim would provide more of a challenge. As she was about to start the draining process, she felt unbearable pain in her back. She didn't have time to find the cause of it before she collapsed and fell into darkness.

Zexion stepped over the fallen woman, staring at the chakram that was sticking out of her back. Axel had been quite precise with his aiming and it had resulted in a lethal blow. Still, perhaps Number Eight hadn't been very wise to do that before the woman could be questioned. Now, the only one who could possibly provide them with any answers was Fifteen who wasn't in the best condition.

Axel was now at the table examining Fifteen. The Flurry had likely passed him without his notice while he was deep in thought. Zexion decided he had better see to her himself instead of staring at a corpse. He raised an eyebrow as Axel pressed his ear rather close to Fifteen's body. Surely he wasn't trying to find a heartbeat? No, he had to be checking her breathing. Axel let out what appeared to be a sigh of relief and started removing the straps around the girl's wrists and ankles.

"You examined her quite thoroughly."

"She should still see Vexen," said Axel. "Heck, I'm not even sure if I should _move_ her." Zexion sighed.

"Then allow me to determine if moving her would make things worse. If your common sense hadn't deserted you, you would've realized that it's better to let the one with medical knowledge examine her first." Axel sighed.

"I just had to see for myself if she was alive. I wasn't about to stand around and wait for you to do it for me." Zexion shook his head and approached the unconscious Mind Mage. Axel stepped away and extracted his chakram from the woman's back.

During the examination, the girl remained still. The only sign of life seemed to be her breathing. After a long while, Zexion determined that she had no neck injuries and that it wouldn't be dangerous to take her back to the Castle. He was grateful to the Superior for sending someone else with him. He wouldn't have been able to move her easily by himself since they were roughly the same size. Axel would have no such problem. "She has some broken bones and other wounds, but no neck injuries. It should be safe to move her." Axel approached the table and gently picked her up.

"What should we do about whoever she is?"

"Seeing as you killed her before we could question her, there isn't much we _can_ do," Zexion pointed out. "Do with her what you will. It would be best if no one figured out we were here." He opened a portal.

"Alright," said Axel. "Burning the place to the ground sounds like a good way to cover our tracks." He followed Zexion through the portal and set a fire behind them.

* * *

"Hmm, what's this? Tidal-wave's sitting around doing nothing?"

"Why are you so surprised, Xiggy? I do this every day," Demyx pointed out.

"'Every day'? As if," Xigbar replied. "Usually you're playing an instrument or reading something music-related."

"I can't just sit around and stare without you thinking it's weird," Demyx asked. Xigbar leaned against the wall.

"Well, I guess Flamesilocks has been out of it more than you and Poppet since Princess flew the coop."

"I don't believe she ran away," Demyx said. "Like Axel pointed out this morning: she wouldn't leave her cat behind if she did." Xigbar raised an eyebrow.

"So she has some heartless attachment to her cat? Sounds ridiculous."

"Don't _you_ have a 'heartless attachment' to guns," Demyx asked. Xigbar shrugged.

"I guess you could call it that since I can't come up with anything better. I probably have the better deal since guns don't meow when they want food."

"It's not like I expected you to be interested in getting a pet," said Demyx. "Wouldn't it be kind of fun to have a pet Dusk or Heartless, though?" Xigbar crossed his arms.

"Dusks are pretty much our servants, so why would you want one for a pet? And it's not like Heartless can think."

"Well, you do have a point there," said Demyx. "But it's not like a Heartless would cause any trouble in a castle full of people without hearts. Maybe I could teach one how to fetch a stick!"

"Yeah right, kid," said Xigbar. "Even if it understood how to fetch, a heart would be the only thing it would be fetching. And then the only way to get the heart that it fetched would be to kill it, so the whole thing seems pointless." Demyx sighed and bowed his head.

"Why do you have to ruin my fun?" Xigbar smirked.

"So, something besides going on a mission ruins your fun? Never thought I'd see the day."

"Is it wrong for me to have an imagination," asked Demyx, picking his head up.

"Imagination doesn't do anything for me," said Xigbar.

"Fancy a game of chance, gentlemen," asked Luxord, shuffling a deck of cards in the doorway. Xigbar chuckled.

"Why? So you can con me out of my munny again?" Luxord held the cards still.

"Please, Xigbar, I'm not a con artist. Whether or not you achieve victory is in the luck of the draw."

"Guess that makes you the luckiest guy in the Castle, then," said Xigbar. "If I wasn't still bled dry from the _last_ poker game, then I might take you up on your offer. And don't even _suggest_ strip poker."

"It's not exactly cold in the Castle this time," Luxord pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Xigbar replied. "Just get lost. I'm not interested." Luxord grinned.

"What about _you_, Demyx?"

"I think I'm too young to gamble," Demyx replied. "Plus, I'm not in the mood to lose any munny or possessions."

"Very well," said Luxord. "I will go seek victims elsewhere."

* * *

"You _do_ realize that the Superior will not be pleased with your hasty actions."

"What was I supposed to do, let her do whatever she was planning to do?"

"You could have disabled her. There was no need for a lethal blow."

"I wasn't thinking 'kill', or 'disable'. I was thinking 'get her away from Koxra'!"

"Is that what you'll tell the Superior whenever you have to explain yourself?"

"Get off my case already, Zex!" Koxra had to be dreaming. Although, Axel and Zexion _did_ sound like they were in the room. Wait, she was in pain. She couldn't be in a dream. Perhaps she was hallucinating, then. Yes, the pain had caused her to hallucinate and imagine that she was in a bed. Surely, when she opened her eyes, she would be strapped to the table again. All the more reason to keep her eyes shut. The longer she stayed like this, the longer Rioris would leave her alone.

"Very well, but you _will_ have to explain yourself eventually. Xemnas will likely not accept that you are waiting for her to wake up."

"Vexen said it didn't matter. As long as I didn't make noise and interrupt his experiment." There was a sigh.

"I will be off to give _my_ part of the report, then. And, due to this mishap of yours, Fifteen will be the only one to provide us with any information. I'd hope it's good information, if I were you." There was a whoosh, which was likely the Schemer stepping through a portal.

Koxra decided she would give another tug just to see if her restraints had loosened any. When she pulled at them, it felt like they weren't there. Actually, it didn't feel like her arms and legs were pulled into those positions at all. They felt rather relaxed. Oh no, what had Rioris done to her now?

She opened her eyes slowly and squinted at the bright light on the ceiling. Wait; there _hadn't_ been a bright light on the ceiling in that building. Where was she? After her eyes had adjusted, she looked at the ceiling. It oddly resembled the medical ward at The Castle That Never Was. She sat up to look around more only to groan at the pain it caused. Hands gently pushed her down.

"Hey, take it easy. Are you trying to make it worse?"

"Axel. Where—"

"In the medical ward," Axel replied. "Where did you think you were?"

"I'm not hallucinating," Koxra asked. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"What made you think you _were_? Are you still a little out of it?"

"Maybe I am. Wait, what about that woman, Rioris?"

"The one who did this?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, she's dead."

"Really?"

"A chakram in the right spot _does_ do that."

"Wait, that's what Zexion was lecturing you about, wasn't it?"

"So, you heard that? Yeah, that's why he was in here."

"Axel?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not in trouble, are you?" The Flurry sat down on the bed next to Koxra's.

"It's not that big of a deal. I can handle it." Koxra sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't think for one second that this is your fault," Axel said, grabbing her shoulders.

"But, you're in trouble for something you did while saving me," said Koxra. "How is it _not_ my fault?"

"Simple," said Axel. "I'm in trouble because I attacked her without thinking about whether or not she could know something that could help us." Koxra blinked.

"Why did you attack without thinking?" Axel let go of her.

"I panicked."

"What," asked Koxra, watching him.

"You weren't moving. I thought you might've started fading any minute. I had to check on you. It didn't matter what I did before I got there."

"You were scared," Koxra asked, blushing.

"Hey, I know I don't really bring it up a lot, but I _do_ care about you," said Axel. "Would I still be in here if I _didn't_?"

"No, I don't think you would," said Koxra. "Thanks for coming to get me." Axel scratched his head.

"No problem. Well, I guess I should go see Xemnas now. Can't avoid him forever."

"He'll probably want a report or something from me, won't he," asked Koxra.

"Yeah. Still, I don't see him making a personal visit to the medical ward anytime soon, so if he can't wait until you're up walking around again, he'll send someone to get any information you have," said Axel. "Guess I'll be back later." He opened a portal and disappeared into it.

* * *

"Hey, Zexion, have you seen Axel anywhere?" Zexion looked up from his book.

"And what makes you think I would have any idea where he is, Thirteen?"

"Well, I heard you two went on a mission together today," said Roxas.

"We don't typically spend time together after missions," said Zexion.

"Don't you have a guess at least," asked Roxas.

"He _was _in the medical ward, but he may be speaking with the Superior now," Zexion replied, returning his gaze to the book. Roxas blinked.

"The medical ward? Is he hurt?"

"No," said Zexion. "Now will you leave me in peace?" Roxas decided that bothering the Schemer more would get him nowhere and left.

He guessed he would check the medical ward first since he was close to it. Why would Axel be in there, though? Zexion said he wasn't hurt. Was he sick? Was Vexen taking some of his blood for an experiment? Roxas shook his head. That last thought was ridiculous. Axel wouldn't agree to giving Vexen some of his blood unless there was a medical reason behind it. It was also unlikely that he was in there pestering Vexen.

Before long, Roxas found that he was right in front of the door. Well, he wouldn't exactly figure out if Axel was in there unless he took a look. He opened the door and looked around. The Flurry was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, hey, Roxas."

"Koxra? When did you get back?" Koxra shrugged as he entered the room.

"I think I've only been awake for forty-five minutes, so I don't know exactly how long I was here before that."

"Why are you in here," asked Roxas.

"Mission complications," Koxra replied. He had a feeling she didn't really want to get into the details. "Anyway, is there a reason you're poking your head in here?"

"I was talking to Zexion and he said Axel might be in here," said Roxas.

"He was," said Koxra. "He left a while ago to see Xemnas. He said he'd be back, so you could wait here if you wanted."

"I guess I will," said Roxas, sitting on a bed. Koxra studied him.

"I get the feeling you've been worried about him."

"Yeah," Roxas replied. "He's been a little off the past three days. He lost track of time a couple times."

"That's weird," said Koxra. "He seemed fine when I saw him. I hope he still is when he comes back." Roxas blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Xemnas might not be too happy with him killing a person of interest," said Koxra. "Even if it _wasn't_ entirely intentional."

"I hope he's not in too much trouble," said Roxas. He turned to the sound of a portal opening. "Axel!"

"Roxas, what are you doing in here," he asked.

"Looking for you," said Roxas. "You're not in a lot of trouble, are you?"

"Why would you think that," Axel asked.

"Koxra said something about you killing someone who was interesting or something like that," said Roxas. Axel glared over at her.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't know that was supposed to be a secret. And I said a 'person of interest' not 'someone who was interesting'." Axel crossed his arms.

"Same thing, basically. Still, he should've heard it from me first."

"I'll remember that if you ever do something like that again," said Koxra. "So, how bad was it?"

"A lecture, cleaning bathrooms, and extra missions," Axel replied. "He wasn't exactly pleased. Still, I think he was a bit lenient."

"You're sure it's not that big of a deal," asked Roxas. "Doesn't sound good to _me_." Axel laughed.

"Well, _of course_ it doesn't sound good. Wouldn't be much of a punishment if it _was_."

"Oh, right," said Roxas. "You don't seem out of it anymore."

"Man, I can't believe getting messed up for only three days made you worry," said Axel.

"It was mostly where you decided to sleep for those three days," said Roxas.

"Hey, I had a reason," said Axel. Koxra was staring at them. It was as though they had forgotten she was in the room. Should she try to stop them in case they say something that's none of her business? Part of her thought she should, but her curiosity was getting the better of her, so she remained silent.

"I can't think of what would be a good reason for camping out in Proof of Existence," said Roxas. That caught Koxra's attention.

"Wait a minute. You did _what_?" Roxas covered his mouth, causing her to eye him suspiciously. Axel sighed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Roxas. It was bound to slip out sooner or later."

"So _that_ was what you were doing that had him worried," said Koxra.

"Don't see why it caused so much worry when I was sleeping and doing what I was supposed to be doing," said Axel.

"Still, we had no clue where you were the first morning," Roxas pointed out. Axel scratched his head.

"Yeah, probably should've let you know or something."

"How did you know when to get up," asked Koxra. "There aren't any outlets that you could plug an alarm clock in. Unless you have one that's battery powered?"

"Well, I was kind of late on the one day," Axel admitted. "Saix wasn't too happy about that. The other times, Demyx came and got me up."

"I doubt Saix just let you off with a warning," said Koxra.

"I have to do an extra mission," said Axel. "Which I'm doing tomorrow."

"Hopefully that's the last of the extra things you have to do," said Roxas. "You'll wear yourself out." Axel waved him off.

"I'll be fine."

"I just don't want you to fall asleep in the middle of a fight or something," said Roxas. Koxra attempted to cover up a yawn. "Are we that boring?"

"Sorry. I'm just tired. You guys can carry on." She rolled over managed to grit her teeth to prevent a moan from escaping.

"Come on, Roxas," said Axel. "We better get out of here so she can sleep."

* * *

"Hey, I heard Koxra was back," said Demyx. "So, I guess she'll be feeding Nikki?"

"I doubt that," said Axel. "She can't even get out of bed."

"Oh," said Demyx. "Guess I'll keep feeding Nikki, then. Wait a minute. She can't get out of bed?"

"Vexen said she'll be back to normal in a couple weeks," Axel explained. "Strange how she didn't even ask about her cat. Maybe she really trusts you to take care of it."

"Well, I _am_ the only other person with a cat," Demyx pointed out. "That's probably why she asked me to feed hers. Still, it's nice to know someone relies on me to do something."

"Yeah, especially when you're not very reliable most times," said Axel.

"That's not funny," said Demyx.

* * *

**This chapter really got away from me since I managed to get nine pages out of it. I'm guessing that I'll be done with this story after one or two more chapters.**


	18. Ch17 Discovery and Bonds

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Nikki, Pocket, Lot, Mark, Covenant, anyone who appears in Covenant, and anyone who is in or affiliated with the Circle.**

* * *

Luna sighed and stepped off the ship. Nina had said she would keep the ship here until she returned. The brunette had to question why Cria even kept her around. She was rarely ordered to do anything. Whenever she _was_ ordered to do something, it was usually because no one else wanted to do it.

Searching for Rioris wasn't exactly something she wanted to do. For all she cared, Rioris could stand to stay missing for a while longer. She was the one who introduced Cyril and his immoral ideas to the Circle. How could he call himself a scientist when he wanted to dissect people? Thinking of dissection made Luna feel sick to begin with, but the thought of living, breathing people being dissected was unbearable.

Still, she could do nothing to stop it in her current situation. All she could do was follow orders in the hopes that she would be reunited with Lot. She rarely had any time to herself, so that gave her little opportunity to search for him. She had given up asking Cria to give up his location long ago.

"Can I help you with something, miss?" Luna turned to see a balding man. His eyes and what remained of his hair were brown. He had a slightly muscular build to him.

"Yes. I'm looking for an associate of mine. She has blue hair, green eyes, and is almost six feet tall." The man rubbed his chin.

"Oh, yes. I believe she's been coming in and out of an old warehouse for the past week or so. Though, I believe it went up in flames two days ago." Luna blinked.

"'Went up in flames'? Was anyone in the building?"

"Now that you mention it, I think a body was found. But, by the time the fire was discovered and dealt with, it was charred pretty badly. It's probably been moved to the morgue," the man replied.

"Where are the morgue and the warehouse," Luna asked.

"They are both on the outskirts of town about five miles from the church," said the man.  
Luna thanked the man and decided she should go and inform Nina before they made a move. On her way back to the ship, a thought crossed her mind. What if the body that had been found was Rioris? It was true that she wasn't fond of the woman, but the thought of her dying a horrific death like that was unnerving.

* * *

"How did you wind up in that situation, Fifteen," asked Zexion. "I would've thought you'd be capable of fighting back after all the training you went through."

"I already said that she had some sort of paralyzing power," Koxra replied. "I couldn't move an inch. If fighting back was possible, you obviously wouldn't be giving me an interrogation right now."

"So, this Rioris wanted to learn more about Nobodies and decided that it would be beneficial to use her strange powers to capture one," Zexion said, writing something in the tablet he had brought.

"Yes," Koxra replied.

"How did she intend to accomplish learning more?"

"You were there, Zexion! You should know without me having to go into detail!"

"This is for the Superior's reference."

"I'd rather not talk about it. Can't you just make conclusions based on what you saw? You're supposed to be good at that." Zexion shook his head and sighed. Whether Nobodies had emotions or not, this experience had likely traumatized Fifteen. Her way of coping with that appeared to be not talking about it. It was unlikely that he would get the causes of her current condition out of her.

"Very well. How did she find out about Nobodies and that you were one?"

"I think she might have been one of the people that have been following us for the past couple months."

"Were you able to find anything out about her?"

"Due to the situation I was in, I couldn't get much. Though, I managed to focus enough to read her mind a couple times. I couldn't keep it up long, so I didn't really get entire thoughts. There was something about someone named Cyril and studying Nobodies and Heartless. And, there was something about a group called the Circle that she was part of."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's all I can remember," Koxra replied. Zexion finished writing something and closed the tablet.

"I believe I've finished. I will take this information to the Superior and see what he makes of it." He disappeared into a portal. Koxra sighed and pondered what to do next. It had only been a couple days and she was bored out of her mind. She doubted Vexen would arrange for a TV to be brought in the medical ward, so she didn't even bother asking. Still, it would be nice to have some music to listen to or a book to read. She hadn't tried standing on her own yet, but saw no reason why it wouldn't work since neither of her legs was broken. Hopefully flinging out one arm would be enough to catch herself if she fell.

Hoping she wouldn't regret this decision later, Koxra leaned on her right arm and moved toward the edge of the bed. After wincing at the pain in her sides and having to remain still to catch her breath a couple times, she was sitting up. She put her feet on the floor and grabbed the bedpost in an attempt to lift herself to her feet.

Finally succeeding in standing, she took a step. She almost fell over, but managed to avoid it by gripping the bedpost as hard as she could. Who knew those burns on her legs would make walking this difficult? She remained there for a while and panted. How was she supposed to walk if she needed the support of the bedpost? Perhaps her pen could act as a crutch? She summoned it and stuck it in the floor.

Koxra moved forward a couple steps, leaning very heavily on the pen. She then realized that she'd have to lean against something to free her hand and summon up a portal. She paused, leaned against a nearby bedpost, switched her pen to her left hand, and summoned a portal. She made her way through it, again leaning on her pen.

* * *

"Larxene, would you just choose a channel?" The Savage Nymph ignored this and continued cycling through the channels. How was it possible for cooking shows to be on so many different channels? She was tempted to toss the remote over to Marluxia just so he would stop bothering her.

Though, perhaps she should hand it over to Luxord since he wasn't complaining. Unfortunately, she'd have to leave the room if he decided to watch golf. How could he sit there and watch that? It was more boring than when Xigbar watched cars race in a circle for five hours on his days off. At least things got interesting when a crash happened. She finally groaned and threw the remote down.

"Now now, we mustn't break things," said Luxord. Larxene stood up.

"Does it _look_ broken to you?" Marluxia bent down to pick it up.

"Not really. Though that's amazing since it looked like you were trying to smash it."

"There's never anything good on," said Larxene. "Besides, the worst that could happen is that I break the remote and everyone has to get up to change the channel. And I'm pretty sure Demyx is the only one lazy enough to not want to get up."

"What exactly were you hoping to watch," asked Marluxia. Larxene rolled her eyes.

"I was in the mood for boxing, but since it doesn't seem to be on, I'll go find something to smack around." She left the room. Marluxia began flipping through the channels.

"What happened to the TV Guide," asked Luxord. Marluxia shrugged.

"I haven't seen it in days. It's likely that someone misplaced it." Xion entered and sat down.

"What are we watching?"

"Nothing until Marluxia finds something he deems worthy of his attention," Luxord replied.

"It's easier said than done," said Marluxia, still flipping through the channels. He finally stopped at what appeared to be a nature show. "This seems to be the most interesting thing to watch right now. Though, I doubt Larxene would've wanted to watch it unless one animal was hunting another." Xion sighed.

"I'm not really in the mood for a nature show. Why can't we get enough good channels?"

"We're fortunate that we even have basic cable on this," said Luxord. "It's amazing that the Superior consented to it."

"One can't help but wonder why he did," said Marluxia.

"I believe it was due to the fact that certain members were causing too much trouble since they had nothing to occupy themselves with," said Luxord. Xion blinked.

"So, it's because of Larxene completely mutilating five punching bags in a row?"

"That's certainly part of it," said Luxord. "I'd say it was also to cut down on Demyx's mischief, Axel napping in here, and anyone setting up dart boards."

"Oh," said Xion. "Well, I think I'll just go find something else to do since it would be pointless trying to get the channel changed."

"This certainly _looks_ like Rioris, but how can I be sure that you didn't decorate this body to make me believe it's her," said Cria. Luna's eyes widened.

"I wouldn't make this up just to get out of looking for her! How could you even suggest that?"

"How do I know that _you_ didn't kill her, then," Cria asked. "Perhaps your plan is to secretly eliminate us one-by-one and search for your brother?" Luna bowed her head.

"I'm not a killer." Cria smiled.

"No, I daresay you're not."

"Why did you make such outrageous claims, then," asked Luna.

"It was merely a test to see if you were truly beyond hope," Cria replied. "Sadly, you failed." Luna blinked.

"What? You're saying that you might have to kill to accomplish your goal?"

"In order to accomplish anything, one must be willing to make sacrifices," said Cria. "Your late mother was unprepared and that ultimately led to her demise and your recruitment."

"Making sacrifices doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing _people_," Luna pointed out.

"There are times when such a thing is unavoidable, girl," said Cria. "Go and send Nina in." After Luna had departed, a girl of about eighteen entered. She had shoulder-length, pink hair and green eyes. She was also pretty short. In fact, Cria highly doubted that she reached five feet. "You can confirm Luna's tale, about Rioris, I assume?"

"Not exactly the whole thing," said Nina. "I was aboard the ship while she was questioning people at first, but the mortician _did_ mention that the body was discovered in a warehouse that had burnt down."

"And they have no idea how this fire originated," asked Cria.

"The only thing they can think of is that it just appeared out of thin air," Nina replied. "They haven't been able to find anything wrong with any electric outlets or heating and saw no signs of arson. It's almost as if someone grabbed a ball of fire and threw it into the building. They _were_ able to confirm that she was dead before the fire started, though." Cria rubbed her chin.

"Hmm, someone throwing a ball of fire into the building? That's not as unbelievable as you might think if Nobodies were involved."

"What makes you think they were," asked Nina.

"They _have_ been getting wise to us recently and I believe I recall hearing that one of them can manifest fire," Cria replied. "Perhaps our dear Rioris found out something she wasn't supposed to and that's why she was eliminated. You searched the warehouse, didn't you?"

"Yes," said Nina. "There was a table in there with remnants of some sort of straps. And on another table was what looked like notes, but most of them were charred too badly to read. The only thing I could tell was that it said something about Nobodies and blood. The rest was gone."

"I'm surprised that _any_ of it survived a fire," said Cria. "One can only take a guess at what she was doing in there. I wonder how Cyril will react to the news of his lover's demise."

"Listening at the door isn't a good idea, Luna," said Nina, shutting the door behind her.

"I just got curious," said Luna. "So, what do you think Rioris was doing in there?" Nina stroked her chin.

"I can't think of any reason for there to be straps on that table other than to restrain someone. A Nobody, most likely, if the notes that were still legible are anything to go on."

"So she was doing experiments on one of the Nobodies," asked Luna. "How could she do such a thing? That's horrible!"

"How can you feel badly for something that doesn't exist," asked Nina.

"If they don't exist, how can we see them," Luna countered. Nina sighed.

"Well, they aren't supposed to exist, but somehow they still do. Though, it's not like we can call the state they're in true existence." Luna crossed her arms.

"Who are we to decide whether or not someone meets qualifications to exist? I thought you could draw your own conclusions, but clearly you're just parroting Cria." Nina watched her walk away. She hadn't been parroting Cria, had she? She just happened to agree. Still, Luna _did_ have a point. They had little right to determine who or what had the right to exist.

It was kind of odd. Luna seemed to truly feel sorry for these Nobodies. Did she believe they were no different from real people? Cria had said that Nobodies have no feelings, so how could they be the same as real people? Was it possible that _Cria_ was in the wrong? Maybe if Nina studied the Nobodies closely, she could find out who was in the right.

"King me," said Demyx. Koxra groaned.

"Come on, not again. You beat me the last three times and now you're about to beat me again."

"You still have some left," Demyx pointed out.

"Can't really do much with five checkers, can I," said Koxra. "Still, maybe I'll be able to make you sweat a little before you win again."

"Ugh," Demyx said. "No thanks. I don't want to sweat. It's gross." Koxra shook her head.

"Is _that_ why you try and get out of work all the time?"

"One of the reasons," Demyx replied, moving a checker. "I've been meaning to ask: why is the Monopoly board on the floor with the pieces scattered everywhere?" Koxra laughed.

"Let's just say that Axel started getting irritated with it and I started getting bored. I meant to put it away, but it fell to the floor when I sat up."

"So, neither one of you felt like picking it up," asked Demyx.

"Pretty much," Koxra replied. "Though, I better try to get it cleaned up before Vexen gets in here. He was in a mood earlier when he checked my bandages. But maybe that explosion ten minutes before that had something to do with it."

"Yeah, one of his experiments probably went horribly wrong," said Demyx. "Speaking of Vexen, did he say when you can leave yet?"

"Tomorrow," said Koxra. "I was really getting tired of being in here anyway. By the way, how's Nikki?" Demyx sighed.

"Well, I've been getting her to eat more when I bring Pocket with me. I just think she misses you and that's affecting her appetite."

"Yeah, that's believable," said Koxra. "My grandmother's cat didn't eat much when _she_ went away for more than a day or two. I wish I could bring Nikki in here."

"Why can't you," asked Demyx.

"I ran it by Vexen last week and he said that under no circumstances would he allow an animal into such a clean and sterile environment," said Koxra. "It's like he thinks Nikki rolls around in the mud on a daily basis. I guess he _could_ be worried about her tracking in cat litter, though. Still, I might have to give her a bath the first chance I get."

"Not with a broken arm, I hope," said Demyx.

"Oh, yeah," said Koxra. "Mostly everything else is back to normal, but Vexen said my arm'll probably need at least two more weeks. Man, what am I supposed to do with myself? I won't even be able to do any of those dumb drawings Mark would make fun of."

"What dumb drawings," asked Demyx. Koxra snorted.

"You seriously _should_ see them. I drew one of Marluxia months ago and I swear it looked like a lollipop with pink hair! Still, that's not as bad as some of the others. Axel's looked like some kind of deformed hedgehog, Roxas's looked like some kind of candy wearing a black coat, and Larxene's looked like an alien."

"Whoa," said Demyx. "Did you try to draw _everyone_?"

"Pretty much," said Koxra. "The others just didn't really resemble any shape that I could make out. I wouldn't know _what_ to call yours."

"Makes me wonder why you bother in the first place if you suck at it," said Axel, entering the room.

"I guess I just like making fun of my drawings," said Koxra. "I thought you were talking to Xion and Roxas." Axel sat down on a bed.

"Trust me, what I'm telling them is exhausting for me. I think I'm getting a headache." Demyx laughed.

"So, you decided to bring Xion in on it too?" Axel rubbed his temples.

"Might as well tell them both at the same time. I was hoping I'd only get _half_ the headaches." Koxra blinked.

"You get headaches talking to your best friends?" Axel leaned back so that he was lying on the bed.

"Let's see _you_ try to teach two kids about the birds and the bees when they know as little as those two."

"I can see why you have a headache, then," said Koxra. "Still, it's amazing that you waited until _now_ to teach them."

"Probably never would've got around to it if I hadn't caught Roxas reading smut the other week," said Axel. If Koxra had been drinking, the drink probably would've been on the floor.

"Roxas, reading smut? I don't think I've heard of anyone doing that without knowing what smut is first."

"He said he wanted to learn more about love," Axel explained. "I guess he didn't like my answer too much."

"He asked you what love was," asked Koxra. "_That_ had to be awkward."

"Actually, it sounds kind of funny," said Demyx.

"Wouldn't be funny if it was _you_ he asked, would it," Axel countered.

"It would make me wonder why the heck he was asking me," said Demyx.

"I thought that after I made sure I heard him right," said Axel. "Apparently Xaldin talked to him about it and he wasn't sure what to think."

"Why would _Xaldin_ talk about love," asked Koxra. "He doesn't seem like the type." Axel sat up and shrugged.

"Got me. _You're_ the mind reader. Why don't you go probe his mind or something?"

"I don't like to do that a lot," said Koxra. "I still get headaches afterward, so I usually don't do it unless I think I have to."

"Maybe if you did it more, you'd have more practice and wouldn't get headaches," said Axel.

"Reading minds every day wouldn't really serve much of a purpose," said Koxra. "I doubt I'd get useful information from what people think about every day. Besides, it would be pretty obvious to most people here what I was doing, so it wouldn't work. Unless someone volunteers themselves here, I won't get away with it."

"So, you're basically out of luck," said Demyx. "Would you look at that, I won again."

"Told you you would," said Koxra. She began putting the checkers and the board away. "And I'll clean up the Monopoly board and pieces while I'm at it." Axel blinked.

"That thing's still on the floor and the Icicle didn't complain about it?" Koxra eased herself out of bed and kneeled on the floor.

"He hasn't exactly been out here much. He muttered something about trying to make more of those element-detector things earlier."

"He doesn't think one's enough," asked Axel.

"I guess he just wants to see if he can make one from scratch," said Koxra, sitting the board in the box. Axel knelt down next to her and started grabbing the pieces.

"Here, I was playing it too." Demyx gave a small chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," said Demyx with a smile. "Well, I'll see you two later." He disappeared into a portal.

"Well, that was weird," said Koxra.

"Yeah," said Axel. "So, did he just show up and want to play checkers?"

"He wanted to play _something_. Whether or not his non-existent heart was set on checkers, I have no idea," said Koxra. "That's what we ended up doing, though."

"Neither one of you have any other board games," asked Axel.

"Not really," Koxra replied. "And I think I'm right in guessing that this Monopoly game didn't come from your room."

"How do you figure that?"

"You weren't in any hurry to pick it up and take it out of the room. It just doesn't seem like you care about the thing too much."

"I kind of 'borrowed' it from Xion."

"Meaning you didn't ask her and you just snuck in her room."

"Hey, it was either that or ask Zex if I could borrow his chess set. Besides, she barely plays it, so I doubt she knows it's gone."

"You would've been out of luck there. I don't know how to play chess."

"Good thing I didn't, then, because he probably would've came after me if he found so much as a scratch on it. It probably wouldn't survive a fall to the floor either."

"What's it made out of, ceramic?"

"Nope. It's made out of glass. G-l-a-s-s, got it memorized?"

"I know how to spell 'glass'. Still, I don't think I've ever seen one. The closest I've seen is one my cousin had that was made of marble."

"Aren't those supposed to cost a lot?"

"No idea. I don't know how much he paid for it. All I remember is being chased away for breathing on it. He didn't trust anyone to touch it but him."

"So, was your cousin crazy?"

"Sometimes. Usually, it was just about the chess board. Well, and his hair. I swear he's obsessed with it."

"Kind of like Marly is?"

"I guess. I heard Luxord complain about him hogging the bathroom for forty-five minutes to fix his hair almost every morning." Axel shook his head.

"If I were Luxord, I'd kick him out of the bathroom after _twenty_ minutes."

"With Marluxia hogging the bathroom, it's a wonder why Luxord doesn't just get a mirror in his room. That would help somewhat."

"Yeah, it would help _some_, but not a lot. How exactly is a _shoe_ supposed to pay for property?" Koxra laughed.

"The same way a dog is, I guess. The hat doesn't make any sense either." They finally got the pieces back in the box and closed it. "I wonder why Xion even got this game if she doesn't play it much." Axel shrugged.

"Probably thought it looked fun at the time and just never got around to playing it. I don't see how this is supposed to be fun. You have to do too much thinking."

"So, you think your brain needs some time off," asked Koxra.

"Hey, I have to think enough during missions," said Axel.

"Yeah, a lot of thinking can be done during missions," said Koxra.

"Something tells me you're not talking about mission-related things," said Axel.

"I was just thinking about the last mission we went on," said Koxra.

"The mission itself or the part where you were acting weird," asked Axel.

"Well, I meant to tell you sooner, but I still wasn't sure then," said Koxra. "So, what I said about you catching me off guard was the best I could think of even if it wasn't the whole reason."

"You mean you were lying," asked Axel.

"No," said Koxra. "I just wasn't sure what my problem was at the time, so I told you the part I could understand. But, I had a lot of time to think these past couple weeks." It was a surprise to Axel that she had had time to think with whatever had happened in that warehouse. It was even _more_ surprising that she was thinking of _this_ when there were so many other things she could've been thinking of.

"You figured something out, then?"

"The reason I was sitting at the fountain that time was because I just started to feel weird when I saw you 'charming' that girl," said Koxra. "I was jealous."

"You realized it too, then," said Axel. Koxra blinked.

"You've been having the same thoughts?"

"It didn't exactly hit me until recently," said Axel. "But, yeah." He raised an eyebrow as Koxra started laughing. "Hey, I'm being pretty serious here."

"I know," she said. "Still, it's kind of funny because I didn't really think I had a chance." Axel stood up.

"Pretty weird thing to laugh about." Koxra stood up.

"Well, I know different now."

* * *

"Almost got it," said Demyx, stretching to hammer in the nail while ignoring the wobbling ladder beneath his feet. The ladder suddenly slid out from under him and he wondered why he hadn't fallen.

"Trying to get time off by hurting yourself, Tidal-wave?" Demyx looked up and saw Xigbar standing on the ceiling, holding him up by his coat.

"I swear I wasn't. The ladder just slipped. Thanks for grabbing me." The Freeshooter walked down the wall and sat him on the floor.

"You're lucky I was up here. What were you doing, anyhow?" Demyx gathered the hammer and nails that had fallen.

"Since it's getting close to Christmas, I thought I'd brighten up the Castle some. It looks so boring the rest of the year."

"Guess the Castle _could_ stand to look a little more interesting," said Xigbar. "But, I don't think Xemnas would listen if anyone told him that. The guy even has his office looking like this. I'm willing to bet that his room's pretty plain-looking too."

"Imagine if someone snuck in his room and put some holly under his sheets," Demyx said with a smile. Xigbar chuckled.

"Not a great idea unless you really _do_ want to be turned into a Dusk."

"Hey, you know I wouldn't really do that," said Demyx. "No matter how funny it would be. Hmm, something's still missing."

"Why not hang some mistletoe in places," Xigbar suggested.

"You just want to see what would happen if someone tried to kiss Larxene, don't you," asked Demyx. Xigbar crossed his arms.

"You're telling me you don't?"

"As long as _I_ don't get stuck under one with her," said Demyx. "I guess I'll go get some mistletoe, then. You are planning to help hang it, right?" Xigbar shrugged.

"It's not like I have anything better to do today."

* * *

**Okay, I'm about ninety-eight percent sure that the next chapter will be the last one. That being said, I hope I can make it a decent length. I really hope I'm doing a good job with the Axel and Koxra relationship. If I'm not, let me know how I can improve.**


	19. Ch18 Holiday Time

**Disclaimer: I only own Koxra, Nikki, Pocket and anyone in or affiliated with the Circle. And I don't own any of the Christmas Carols sung in this chapter.**

* * *

Cyril had almost thrown his pipe in a fit of rage before he realized that that wouldn't be a good idea. How else was he to calm himself if he couldn't smoke it? Instead, he sat it on the table and eased himself into an armchair, trying to process what Cria had just told him. Rioris was gone. That thought made his heart ache, no matter how black he was told it was.

The new recruit, Nina had said she suspected Rioris was performing experiments on a captive Nobody. How could that be? She had given him her word that she would bring him any Nobodies she managed to catch in her territory. However, judging by the few legible notes that had been found, she had been putting data together. Most likely, it had been meant for him. Had she been thinking what she was doing would help him with his research?

Regardless of what she had been thinking, she was gone. Cria had said she suspected Nobodies had killed her. Now there was one more reason for him to pursue his experiments. Not only would it allow him to study them, but he would be getting revenge for Rioris.

* * *

"Hey, Roxas," said Xion as she stepped out of a portal. "Looks like we both got done at around the same time."

"Uh, yeah," said Roxas. "Isn't that a Christmas tree in the corner?"

"Oh, yeah, I wonder who brought it in," said Xion. "And someone hung red and green paper chains from the ceiling."

"That was probably Xigbar," said Roxas.

"True," said Xion. "I wonder where Axel and Demyx are. Are they even back yet?"

"No clue," said Roxas. "The decorating seems like something Demyx would do. Maybe he convinced Xigbar to help him."

"Yeah, maybe," said Xion. "Still, where would Axel be?" Roxas shrugged.

"Maybe he went to see Koxra?"

"Could be," said Xion. "I think something's going on with those two."

"What do you mean," asked Roxas.

"They're going places by themselves and it seems like they're friendlier with each other," said Xion. "Plus, I saw them kissing in the hall the other day."

"So you think they're doing that dating thing Axel told us about," asked Roxas.

"Why else would they be kissing," asked Xion.

"You have a point there," said Roxas. "It's a good thing Axel already told us about that stuff or we wouldn't know what was going on." Xion laughed.

"And here I didn't think there would be a time when we would understand anything like this. I'm amazed Axel didn't lose his patience."

"Probably because he caught me reading something that he called 'smut'," said Roxas. "He _still_ never told me what that meant. He only told me that I shouldn't be reading it."

"You'd think he'd explain what it was if he wanted you to avoid it," said Xion. Roxas shrugged.

"Maybe he just doesn't want me getting bad ideas. I'll try asking him later."

"Good idea," said Xion. "So, do you want to go and see Xemnas first or should I?"

"Why don't we just go together," Roxas suggested. Xion agreed and they headed out of the Grey Area. Roxas hadn't realized she'd stopped until she tugged on his sleeve.

"What do you think that is?" He followed her gaze to the top of the doorway and saw what looked like part of a plant hanging from the top of the door frame. It appeared to be a clump of green leaves with what looked like red berries in between them.

"No idea," said Roxas. "Why would anyone hang a plant up there?" There was a nearby snort.

"I thought Axel would've told you about that with Christmas coming up."

"Or, you could tell us instead of laughing, Demyx," Roxas countered. Demyx smirked.

"Well, that, my Christmas tradition challenged friends, is known as mistletoe." Xion blinked.

"And what's it for? Just to look pretty?"

"When two people walk under one at the same time, they're supposed to kiss," said Demyx. Roxas and Xion exchanged glances.

"Why," Xion asked.

"Don't know," said Demyx. "It's just a tradition. I'm not sure who came up with it, but I guess I can let you guys off the hook this time since you didn't know about it." He turned and headed back down the hallway. "But if you want to do it anyway, you can. I'm not going to spy on you." Roxas looked after the Nocturne as he rounded the corner.

"It's almost as if he expects us to kiss, isn't it?" He turned his attention back to Xion when he didn't get a response. He flinched as he realized she was inches away from him. "Xion, what are you doing?" Before he had time to think, she pulled him into a kiss. As soon as his brain snapped out of shock, he returned the kiss. After a while, they broke apart and Xion bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. I should've asked first." Roxas put his hands on her shoulders.

"I wasn't expecting it, but I'm not complaining. Hey, did it seem like I was fighting you?"

"Well, no," said Xion, looking up at him again. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Now that I think about it, didn't Axel say, 'Don't be surprised if you two get the urge to do it'," asked Roxas. "I didn't get it then, but I think I understand now." Xion giggled.

"I think _he_ knew before we did. I didn't think we were that blind."

* * *

"Well, that's the last of the mistletoe," said Demyx, wiping his forehead. "Now I'm all sweaty. Gross." Xigbar rolled his eyes.

"_You're_ sweaty? Who's been doing most of the hanging? If I knew this would take more than one day, I never would've agreed to help."

"Come on, Xiggy," said Demyx. "We had three days of goofing around during free time."

"Normally, I like to do _useful_ things with my free time," said Xigbar, walking down the wall and onto the floor.

"And making the Castle more cheerful-looking isn't useful," Demyx asked. Xigbar snorted.

"What good's making the Castle look cheerful to people who aren't supposed to have emotions?"

"If you've been thinking that this whole time, why did you help," asked Demyx.

"I was bored," said Xigbar. "Plus, keeping an eye on the mistletoe archways might be fun."

"You mean like blackmail," said Demyx.

"I'd have to get a camera for that," said Xigbar. "Still, it might be funny to see if anyone tries to kiss the Lightning Queen."

"Still, we'll have to be careful that _we_ don't end up under one with her," said Demyx. "I think _I'll_ just stick to portals until it's time to take all of this down."

"Coward," Xigbar said.

"I'm not a coward," said Demyx. "I just value my life."

"Whatever you want to call it, I guess," said Xigbar. "I guess the only rooms that _aren't_ decorated are Xemmy's office, the bedrooms, the medical ward, and Vexen's lab."

"I'd like to still be alive for my next birthday, thank you," said Demyx. "Besides, Vexen and Xemnas strike me as being Scrooges. I'm amazed that we even get off as much as we do around Christmas time."

"He knows some of us use holidays to go on an alcohol binge, so he figures we need a couple days to sober up," said Xigbar. "He doesn't give us vacation just because it's a holiday."

"So he's actually giving some of us an excuse to act like idiots," asked Demyx.

"Since when was alcohol an excuse to act like an idiot," asked Xigbar.

"Since New Year's Day last year when you walked through Larxene's door and started digging through her stuff while you were drunk," said Demyx. "You were lucky to get away with a quick zap."

"Funny, I don't remember that happening," said Xigbar.

"Of course you don't," Demyx exclaimed. "Didn't I just say you were drunk? Well, 'drunk' is actually being generous."

"So I was hammered," Xigbar offered. "I can see why I don't remember what happened then. Well, I _do_ remember getting zapped. Just can't remember what I did to deserve it."

"How about you stop _before_ you get hammered this time," Demyx suggested.

* * *

_Deck the halls with boughs of holly_

_Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la_

_Tis the season to be jolly_

Axel decided to roll over and not ask questions. Surely Demyx would shut up soon so he could get back to sleep.

_Don we now our gay apparel_

Okay, what the _hell_ was that line supposed to mean? Apparel meant clothing, but clothes couldn't be homosexual. Maybe it was the other meaning. Wait, clothes couldn't be happy either, could they? More importantly, why was he putting so much thought into this so early in the morning?

_We wish you a Merry Christmas_

_We wish you a Merry Christmas_

_We wish you a Merry Christmas_

_And a happy New Year_

_Good tidings we bring_

"Demyx, enough with the singing already," Axel snapped.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too," said Demyx. Axel groaned.

"So? I'm tired and I want to sleep in."

"Fine, I'll just get lost," said Demyx. "I'll see you whenever you decide to drag yourself out of bed."

* * *

"I have never heard of drinking eggnog for breakfast," said Koxra.

"It's probably the only Christmas-related thing that can be served for breakfast," said Xion. Demyx laughed.

"Yeah. How many people eat turkey and stuffing for breakfast?"

"No one I know of," said Xion.

"Maybe if they worked at night and came home in the morning," Koxra suggested. "Unless my brother is the only one who came home and ate fried chicken after working all night, that is."

"That actually makes some sense," said Demyx. "But it's still weird." Koxra laughed.

"Yeah, I know. I told him that every morning and he always said, 'It's not like I just got out of bed'. I guess the fact that he hadn't been sleeping made it not seem like breakfast to him."

"Demyx, Axel isn't still in bed, is he," asked Roxas.

"Yeah," Demyx replied. "He woke up just long enough to yell at me for singing Christmas songs while he was trying to sleep."

"That's weird," said Koxra. "I didn't think he headed off to bed _that_ late. But, he _did_ fall asleep while we were watching TV, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"What were you watching," asked Roxas.

"I don't even remember what it was called," said Koxra. "It was some sort of western movie, though. I have no clue how he slept through all the gunshots."

"It all depends if he was bored or not," said Roxas.

"Well, since _he_ picked it and was awake during the dynamite scene, I'd say he was just tired," said Koxra. Demyx laughed.

"What, did you wear him out?"

"More like the TV did since we were watching it most of the day," said Koxra. "I can't really do too many fun things until my arm heals. I also thought it would be funny to show him my drawings. He thought the picture of him looked like a porcupine on a black pole. I hadn't thought of that one."

"What did he call mine," asked Demyx. Koxra laughed.

"Mud wearing a coat! I didn't think I made your hair _that_ brown."

"It's not brown anyway," said Demyx. "It's dirty blond."

"Still, I didn't have a colored pencil called 'dirty blond'," said Koxra. "So, I had to improvise and try light brown." Demyx chuckled.

"I guess you wouldn't do much better if I posed for you, huh?"

"I doubt it," Koxra replied.

"Merry Christmas, Axel," said Xion as the red-head entered the room. He sat down.

"Wonder who came up with that saying. I don't feel very 'merry' today."

"I doubt whoever came up with the saying was thinking of you when they thought it up," said Roxas. Axel put his head in his hands.

"Yeah, I don't really care. I'm still tired."

"Why'd you get up, then," asked Koxra.

"I found a cat laying on me," said Axel. "Know anything about that, Demyx?"

"Hey, I didn't put him up to it," said Demyx. "He probably wanted to lay there because you're so warm. Wait, you didn't do anything to him, did you?" Axel looked up.

"I didn't hurt your cat. I just picked him up and put him on the floor so I could get up."

"Hmm, you've never had a cat sleep with you before, have you," asked Koxra.

"I never had a cat or lived with someone who did before," said Axel.

"Well, it takes some getting used to," Koxra replied. "But not everyone likes it when a cat sleeps with them, I guess."

"It was probably about time I got up anyway," said Axel. "I doubt anyone else is still sleeping right now."

"I don't know about that," said Demyx. "I haven't seen Xiggy all morning." Axel snorted.

"He probably has a hangover. Around midnight, I saw him stumbling through the hallway drunk." Demyx shook his head.

"And I told him the other day to keep an eye on his drinking. I guess he didn't get into any trouble or I would've heard about it."

"Yeah," said Axel. "I don't think Larxene would want to find him in her room again." Koxra stared.

"He seriously went in Larxene's room when he was drunk?"

"I was amazed that he made it out with only a zap," said Axel, laughing. "I guess she was in a good mood."

"I'd imagine that she would've been in serious trouble if she purposely hurt a superior really bad," said Koxra. "Besides, drunk or not, I doubt Xigbar would've let her attack him too much."

"You're probably right about that," said Demyx. "But, drunk Xiggy is pretty unpredictable."

"Well, he definitely wouldn't search through Larxene's things if he was sober," said Koxra.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," said Axel.

"You're welcome, Major Flame," said Koxra, smirking.

"I think I like _General_ Flame better," said Axel.

"You wouldn't like General Flurry, then," asked Koxra. Demyx shook his head.

"I don't think either of you have any business commanding an army." Axel shrugged.

"Wouldn't want to anyhow. It's nice that we don't have to worry about a whole army when we're on missions."

"Unless an army comes and attacks us, that is," said Koxra. Axel rolled his eyes.

"That has almost no chance of happening."

"As long as we keep working by sneaking around, I guess you have a point there," said Koxra.

* * *

**Well, I made it to six pages for this chapter. I didn't know how much space it would take up, but I thought this would be a good stopping point. I'll get to work on writing the sequel, which I'm changing the title for. I have no idea what I'm changing it to yet. Maybe I'll come up with something while I'm working on it.**

**By the way, I would like some feedback for this story. If some things could use improvement, let me know. **


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